


The Irish Detective

by Melira



Category: Castle
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Season/Series 05, case-fic of the different kind, missing Ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 03:25:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17841539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melira/pseuds/Melira
Summary: When Ryan doesn't show up for work one day and the others are left with a signed resignation letter, they get suspicious. Neither Ryan nor Jenny answer their phones and the question what happened to them soon becomes a mystery harder to solve than expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set somewhere in the first half of season five, just so you know which general circumstances to expect.

Two freshly bought cups of coffee in hand, Castle walked straight from the elevator up to Beckett’s desk at the other end of the room, as he always did. And like every day he greeted in the general direction of Ryan and Esposito. Being focused on the woman in front of him, it took him a few seconds to realize what he had just seen. He stopped dead in his tracks and walked a few steps backwards until the area in question was within his line of sight again.

“Morning, Esposito!” 

The greeted man lifted his head and nodded in acknowledgement. “Morning, Castle.” 

“Where’d you leave your better half?” As Castle normally was the last one to arrive and Ryan and Esposito rarely ever were to be seen separated during working hours, one of them being missing was quite an unusual sight.

“Beats me”, the detective  answered. “Probably overslept. Or”, he winked at Castle, “he and Jenny over _slept_ again.”

Castle grinned at the suggestive comment. “Well, let’s hope she’ll ever release him from his duty as a loving husband and soon-to-be-father again. Preferably long enough for him to re-join law enforcement.”

Their teasing about Ryan being henpecked by his wife had become a running gag throughout the last weeks, no matter if the object of their amusement was within earshot or not.

Esposito laughed and returned to his work while Castle moved on towards Beckett, passing a couple of other officers on his way.

She sat at her desk, folders strewn all over it, and typed something on her computer. Castle tried to read  some of the documents upside down while he sat on the chair that had become his over the course of the past four years.

“What are you doing?”, he asked her.

“Catching up on some paperwork. Wanna help me?” She flashed him a teasing grin, knowing full well he hated nothing more than boring bureaucracy. 

“Urgh!” In response to her almost offending question he threw himself into the backrest of his chair to get as far away as possible from the dull work threatening him. Unfortunately, he still had his hot coffee in hand which, due to the basic laws of physics, splashed out of its cup and all over Castle’s former beige shirt. “Ouch, damn it!”

Beckett laughed at his curse. “Well, now your looks finally resemble the toddler you are within!”

“Not funny!”, he growled but a smile tucked at the corners of his mouth.

Right when he was looking for something to at least dry the stains, footsteps neared from behind and he felt the ominous presence of Captain Gates looming over him. Castle lifted his shoulders until they almost touched his ears, mimicking a kitten carried away by its mother after it had done something it shouldn’t have.

“Have I done something wrong?” he asked half playful, half serious, peeping up at Gates. The captain walking up to him rarely ever meant anything good. And when it did it was because Beckett was next to him and she wanted to talk to her instead of him.

“Don’t assume everything always has to be about you, Castle”, the stern woman chided. “Detective Beckett, may I have a word with you?”

Castle saw Beckett nodding at her superior but not moving to stand. “Of course, sir.”

“In my office, if you please.”

Beckett got up and, casting Castle a quizzical glance, followed Gates.

He kept his eyes on the two women, too curious not to wonder what was up that he was excluded from. He saw Gates handing Beckett an envelope and waiting for her to read the papers inside. Castle absentmindedly  pulled at the wet front of his shirt, not really caring what he looked like at the moment. He was shortly worried the letter contained bad news regarding Beckett personally but soon dismissed the thought again. Kate seemed to get more confused by the second but apparently  was neither agitated nor devastated. It took him a moment to decipher her body language but finally he was sure what her posture expressed. Incredulity. 

When she handed the letter back and Gates said something, Castle could see Beckett shake her head and shrug before motioning in the vague direction of the desks of Ryan and Esposito. Was this about them? Ryan’s absence maybe? Perhaps Gates had gotten wind of why the young detective was so absentminded lately and wanted Beckett to talk to him about it. But surely, she could have said that in front of Castle or asked Esposito who was, after all, Ryan’s partner.

Before Castle could dwell anymore on the subject, Beckett nodded towards Gates and left the captain’s office. When she passed Esposito’s desk, she motioned for him to follow and a few seconds later they joined Castle who was still sitting next to Beckett’s table. By now, he was positively dying to know what all this was about.

“What’s the matter?” Esposito asked the still confused looking Beckett before Castle could even open his mouth.

“I’m not entirely sure”, she replied while sitting down behind her desk. “Gates just showed me a letter. It came only minutes ago and she wanted to ask me about it first.”

“Who was it from?”, Castle interrupted her.

“Ryan.” She looked at Esposito. “It was his resignation.”

“His what?” Esposito, who had positioned himself on top of the desk, right at the corner between the other two, jumped to his feet.

“His resignation”, Beckett repeated. 

The Latino shook his head vigorously. “No, he wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t!”

“It was signed by him. I’m sorry, Espo!” Castle could hear the compassion in her voice that washed through him, too, at the other man’s sight. Esposito looked angry, sad and forlorn at the same time.

“But he didn’t say anything. And why should he quit? No, I don’t believe it!”, he exclaimed and suddenly turned away from them, heading for Gate’s office.

“Espo!” Beckett called after him but he ignored her.

“Poor him”, Beckett said, looking after him as he knocked impatiently and after a moment entered the slightly separated room.

Castle followed her gaze, his mind already swirling with theories she would definitely dismiss as various degrees from improbable to downright crazy.

“Well, he’s right, Ryan doesn’t have any reason to quit. And even if, why should he do so without telling us personally?” Castle asked but didn’t get an answer.

Behind the huge window in the wall, Esposito seemed to be pleading with Gates now and after a few seconds she handed him the envelope. He tore the letter out of it, quickly scanned the pages and then suddenly handed the papers back to her. He stormed out of the room, a grim expression on his face, and walked over to his desk, almost stomping his feet.

Castle and Beckett looked at each other shortly and then simultaneously got up. They reached their comrade when he lifted the telephone to his ear.

“Oh, come on, man. Take the damn call!”, he muttered angrily.

He ignored the other twos’ slightly shocked faces when he forcefully put the receiver down half a minute later.

“Espo, calm down”, Beckett tried to soothe him while Castle couldn’t do anything more than stand by and watch the man ring his hands in frustration.

“I can’t believe he did that!” Practically repeating his words from earlier, Esposito looked at Castle.

“Why would he quit? And why didn’t he tell me about it?” Castle knew he wasn’t asked because he was expected to have answers but because the younger man needed someone to vent off on. Not to be able to do anything but shrug helplessly didn’t feel good anyway.

“Friends talk to each other! And I thought he was my friend. I was his groomsman, for God’s sake! He should have talked to me! And now he doesn’t even answer his phone.” His voice had gotten louder with every word and the people around them started throwing curious looks their way.

“Espo. Espo!” Beckett’s voice was somewhat of a loud whisper. “Calm down”, she ordered again. “We’ll figure out why he did it, okay?”

At her words, Esposito looked like someone had pulled a stopper and let the air out of him. He sank into his chair.

“I just don’t understand it. Why would he do that? And without mentioning anything? When he left yesterday, he said ‘see you tomorrow’ without so much as looking guilty!”

All the power seemed to have been drained from the young detective. He miserably sat in his office  chair, staring at his desk.

Castle who still hadn’t said anything clapped a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll find out why he did it, promise.” All he got in return was an indistinctive grunt.

“Come, Castle”, Beckett said in a low voice and lightly pulled at his sleeve. They walked back to her desk, leaving a stricken looking Esposito behind.

When they reached their respective chairs and sat down, Castle turned once again and looked over his shoulder at the lonely man who still hadn’t moved.

“I don’t understand why Ryan would do something like this”, he practically repeated what had been said already for like ten times in the past quarter of an hour. “And I feel bad for Espo, he must feel so betrayed _._ Remember how he reacted when Ryan talked to Gates about this whole Bracken affair? He would barely talk to him for days because he was so angry. And as soon as his trust is restored, his best friend just vanishes without a word of explanation. No wonder he’s frustrated!” He watched as Esposito finally pulled himself together and apparently tried to start working again. His slumped shoulders were visible, even over the distance, and clearly indicated his devastated state of mind.

Castle shook his head and turned back to Kate who was absentmindedly looking towards Ryan’s desk.

“It’s not like him”, she stated all of a sudden.

“It’s not like Esposito to react badly to Ryan disappearing?” Castle sent her an incredulous look.

“No”, now it was her turn to shake her head and pull herself out of her musings. “I mean Ryan. It’s not like him to just leave without saying something. Anything.” She looked at Castle. “There has to be an explanation.”

“Now, there I agree”, he said and finally let his imagination run riot while Beckett looked unseeingly at the folders in front of her.

“What do we have?” she asked rhetorically. “Ryan quits over night without telling anyone about it by sending a letter with his resignation. The next day, he doesn’t answer his phone.”

“Maybe he’s had an affair and finally decided to elope with her”, Castle piped in. “Or him...”, he added thoughtfully.

Beckett looked at him in annoyance. “Ryan? Elope with another woman? Did you sleep through all of his wedding? If someone loves his wife, it’s him. He could never do anything to hurt or leave her, let alone cheat on her.”

“Okay, you’re right”, Castle conceded. “So what if he eloped with Jenny?”

“Whereto and why should he? Especially without leaving any kind of message. You know Ryan, he’s not cruel.”

“Hm”, Castle kept thinking. “He was abducted!”, he claimed after a few silent seconds.

“Castle”, Beckett seemed to slowly lose her patience. “If he was, then why would there be his resignation? And why should anyone want to abduct him in the first place?”

“I don’t know that, yet, but I’ll get there!”

“Ugh”, she exclaimed, turning towards her computer and throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. 

“You’ve got a better idea?” he asked.

“No. But if I come up with one, it’ll at least be logical.”

“Who cares about logical as long as it’s true?”

“But it isn’t!”

“How can you know that?”

“The laws of probability, Castle”, she said, facing him once more. “Did Ryan ever show even a single sign of keeping secrets?”

Castle let his head drop. “No.”

“Precisely. And only something we don’t know about him could be a reason to abduct him. Or blackmail him, for that matter”, she added quickly when Castle opened his mouth.

“How did you know that was what I was going to say next?” he asked fascinated.

“Because those are always the stories you come up with first.” Castle looked at her, a hurt expression on his face, but she kept talking anyway. “I’m astounded you haven’t suggested some huge government deception or aliens involved yet.”

“A government deception, that’s it!” Castle exclaimed, his previous offended feelings forgotten and ignoring her irritated tone.

“God, no!” Beckett buried her head in her hands at his obscure ideas.

“No, listen to me”, he said excitedly. “Remember this scientist with the theory of there being a possible linchpin for everything to happen? What was his name?”, he stopped for a second before he remembered. “Blakely! Yes, that’s it. Professor Blakely. Whatever. So, maybe Ryan is the key to some large scale operation and now they got him to set the wheels in motion.”

“Castle, you can’t be serious!” Beckett said into his explanation, but he ignored her, the gears in his head turning.

“No, that doesn’t sound right”, he mused.

“Exactly, Castle, it’s nonsense.” He ignored her again.

“It’s Jenny!” he said triumphantly after a moment of silence. “No, wait”, he held up a finger when she opened her mouth to protest. “What if she is the illegitimate daughter of some high-class diplomat? Maybe someone found out about her, abducted her and now tried to use her as leverage to cause World War III. And they took Ryan, too, so he couldn’t try to save her and interfere with their plans.” He looked proud at his conclusion.

Beckett sighed. “You forgot about the resignation again”, she said but if she had meant to make him see the faults in his explanation, she had failed.

“No, I didn’t! They forged the letter and sent it here so we wouldn’t look into their disappearances either.”

“It was definitely his signature, I saw it”, she tried to dissuade him from his idea once more.

“Then they forced him to sign it.”

“Castle!” Beckett had finally  enough. He looked at her, surprised by her suddenly harsh tone.

“Hm?”

“It’s enough. I suggest we try to get behind this the old-fashioned way. By looking at the facts instead of making wild assumptions”, she clarified at his uncomprehending expression.

“Boring”, he commented but stopped making suggestions anyway. She just shook her head and didn’t comment any further.

Looking down on her desk once again she suddenly noticed her coffee, still standing untouched near the edge of it. She took it and nipped on it but immediately put it back down with a flinch and a disgusted noise. “Cold!”

Castle looked down his front at his stained shirt, remembering he had some left, too.

“I’ll get us some new”, he said, got up and took the two cups with him to the small kitchen-like room with the espresso machine in it he had sponsored the precinct years ago.

While he threw away the cold cups and prepared two new ones, he could see Beckett motioning for Esposito to come over after calling out for him. In a sudden mood of amicability Castle prepared a third cup. The younger detective looked as if he needed it.

When he had finished putting milk froth on top of the steaming liquid, he noticed he only had two hands. Not wanting to walk twice, he somehow managed to carry two of the cups in one hand by slitting his fingers through the handles and supporting it with his knuckles. It took him a few meters to realise just how bad of an idea that had been.

The cups were burning hot and he felt like his fingers were about to catch fire any second now. Not having a choice but to continue his way, Castle hurried towards Beckett and Esposito. The latter was now once again positioned on the corner of her desk. The coffee splashed a little but he managed to keep everything in.

When he reached the table, Castle was tempted to just let go off the cups but succeeded in setting them down carefully. As soon as he got rid of them, he rapidly withdrew his hands, shaking them violently through the air.

“Damn it!” he exclaimed. “Hot!” He continued cursing while Beckett and Esposito smiled lightly at his clumsiness.

“Better show some compassion, you ungrateful cop”, Castle said only half accusingly to the Latino upon seeing his unfeeling smirk. “I put myself in harm’s way just so you could savour the taste of this delicious Latte.” With that, Castle carefully pushed one of the mugs towards Esposito and let himself fall into his chair.

“I’ll be forever in your debt”, the younger man playfully stated before resuming his almost grave demeanour.

Beckett, who had wordlessly watched the whole scene, cleared her throat. “Okay, I think we should go over the facts again. From the beginning”, she said. When the others nodded, she continued. “Ryan hasn’t shown up for work today but sent his resignation by letter, the signature seems to be legit. But he has not shown any indications that he was planning to leave, right?”

Both Castle and Esposito shook their head.

“And in addition, we have no idea why he should do so in the first place.” Her voice trailed off. “As far as we know, there’s no reason for him to disappear like this. Least of all without telling us.” She looked at Esposito questioningly. “Or have you remembered something?”

The younger detective shook his head. “No, can’t think of a single thing.”

“So we’ve got no lead there”, Beckett concluded. Castle knew her facial expression to be one of deep contemplation. She always had it when a case came to a dead end but she refused to accept that.

“Have you tried calling him again?” Castle asked Esposito who in response looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“Six times, both on his mobile and the landline.”

“And Jenny, did you call her, too?” The incredulous look on Esposito’s face became even more pronounced.

“Of course! She didn’t answer either. I must have left them a total of thirty messages on their voice mails, email accounts, mobiles and with Jenny’s co-workers. By the way, they told me she quit. Over night, by letter and without mentioning anything to anybody beforehand. Sound familiar?”

Castle felt his curiosity spike to an until now unreached maximum. If all this wouldn’t concern Ryan, he was sure he would thoroughly enjoy the mystery this case provided.

“Am I the only one wanting to visit the Ryans and ask what all this is about?”, he asked.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I forgot at the beginning of the first chapter: I had no chance to watch this show in English, it was only available in my own language (irks) so I have no idea what the characters sound like in the original, if they have favourite sentences or words they don't use... So if I made mistakes in that regard (or any other), please tell me and I'll be happy to correct them!

It was two hours later that Castle and Beckett were expectantly waiting for Esposito to return and report or at least call. When the three of them had prepared to leave earlier, Beckett had insisted on telling Gates where they were going, after all they couldn’t just leave work in the middle of the day. As could have been expected, the captain hadn’t been too thrilled and forbade them from ‘spying on detective Ryan’ as she had put it. Although, untypically, a short argument on the part of Esposito had managed to make her let him go. Apparently, she had taken pity on his urgent tone and almost desperate look. But she had stayed adamant about at least keeping Beckett where she belonged. And while she couldn’t order Castle around, he had chosen to stay at the precinct. As curious as he had been, he had felt it more appropriate to let Esposito talk to Ryan alone. And he hadn’t wanted for Beckett to be the only one left behind.  
  
Now, they sat at Beckett’s desk once more and tried not to check if someone came out of the elevator every few seconds. But they couldn’t help staring at their mobiles which were lying in front of them, waiting for a call. Beckett’s work was long forgotten and even Castle had given up on theorizing. They just wanted the answers Esposito was hopefully going to get.    
  
“You think Espo found them at home?” Castle asked at one point and broke the silence that had spread between them.  
  
“I don’t know”, Beckett answered wearily. “I feel like that’d be too easy.”  
  
“True.” Castle let his head hang a little. “Why is nothing ever easy?”  
  
She looked up at his unexpected rhetorical question. When he returned her gaze, she lifted her eyebrows a little and shrugged, not knowing what to say to that. After that, they returned to their silent musings.  
  
Another half an hour later, they both jerked when Beckett’s phone suddenly started ringing.  
  
“It’s Espo”, Beckett said half excited, half anxious. She lifted the phone to her ear and greeted the man on the other end of the line.  
  
“Hey Espo, I put you on speaker, alright?” After a to Castle inaudible answer, she put the mobile back on the desk and touched a button. Both of them fixed their gaze on the device as if it was a person.  
  
“So, did you talk to them?” Castle asked eagerly.  
  
“No”, came Esposito’s voice. “I rang the doorbell at least five times but no one answered it.”  
  
“If nobody was there, then what took you so long?” Beckett inquired. “You’ve been gone well over two hours now.”  
  
“Well, you see, I still had a key. Ryan gave it to me when they went on their honeymoon. So I took a look inside, just to see if I could find something.”  
  
Beckett shook her head and Castle was pretty sure she couldn’t decide if she was glad or if this went too far in her opinion.  
  
“And?”, she finally asked. “Did you?”  
  
“That’s the thing”, Esposito answered, “everything was just the same. At least almost, I only found three weird things. Or rather, I didn’t find them. The frame with the picture from their wedding was empty and their toilet bags were missing. But when I checked their wardrobe to see if they had packed their other things, too, it didn’t look like it, everything still there as far as I could tell. But guess what? There was no underwear. Nowhere. Just two empty drawers.”  
  
Castle looked up at Beckett, seeing his confusion reflected in her eyes. He felt his mind desperately trying to come up with an explanation for these strange findings, but it failed.  
  
“Why would they take their underwear, toothbrushes and a picture but nothing else?” Beckett asked. “If they left for longer than a night, they would have packed other clothes, too. But if they only meant to stay away shortly, they wouldn’t take all the underwear.”    
  
“Maybe someone else took them”, Castle piped in.  
  
“Still the same question. Why would anyone take those but nothing else? It doesn’t make sense.”  
  
“No, it doesn’t”, Esposito was to be heard again. “That’s what took me so long, I tried to find something else. Anything. But there was nothing.” He sounded frustrated.  
  
“Hm.” Beckett thought about it for a moment. “Okay, I’d say you come back here. You can’t do anything more there and maybe we’ll come up with something together.”  
  
“Be there in thirty”, Espo answered and ended the call.  
  
Castle and Beckett looked at each other, bewildered by what Esposito had found.  
  
“Any theories?”, she asked him slightly desperate.  
  
He slowly shook his head. “No, not a single one. Why would anyone do that?”  
  
“No idea.” She, too, shook her head.  
  
It took Esposito another half an hour to get back to the precinct. When he arrived, Beckett had forced herself to finally continue working while Castle sat there, staring into a new mug of coffee, and tried to come up with an explanation. As the younger man approached the desk and once more positioned himself on its edge, Beckett lifted her eyes from the folders in front of her, glad to finally have a reason to stop filing through them.  
  
“So, what do you think?” Esposito asked.  
  
Beckett shrugged helplessly. “We can’t think of anything. You?”  
  
“Nope, still nothing.” Castle was glad to see that Espo apparently had pulled himself together and managed to be his usual self fairly well. It had been disconcerting to see him so uncharacteristically downcast. Although his normally light air was somehow dampened, no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.    
  
Sometimes, Castle wondered about the slightly peculiar friendship of the two partners. They seemed to be too different to get along but somehow, they had managed to build a friendship stronger than most others. Even though they never missed an opportunity to get the better of one another. Especially Esposito, being the more outgoing of the two, seemed to rather enjoy embarrassing his partner from time to time.  
  
“And there really was nothing else that seemed unusual?” Castle asked.  
  
“As I said, only the picture and the empty drawers. Otherwise it was their all-time well cleaned apartment.” Esposito hesitated. “No, wait, there was something.” He looked first at Beckett than at Castle. “I noticed there were dirty dishes in the washer.”  
  
“So their departure wasn’t planned”, Castle concluded.    
  
“Maybe even forced”, Esposito added, sounding a bit worried. “Perhaps they were abducted after all.”  
  
“But why would they be?” Beckett asked.    
  
“My money is still on Jenny being the linchpin”, Castle said. Beckett just shrugged Espo’s questioning look off, mouthing “Don’t ask”.  
  
“We’re going round in circles”, Beckett stated. “This won’t get us anywhere as long as we don’t know more. I’d say, we try finding out if anyone knows about something we don’t.”  
  
“Okay”, Esposito agreed. “I’ll try contacting their friends, maybe you could reach out for the families.” He got up again, looked at Beckett who nodded and left for his desk.  
  
The afternoon passed and the three of them grew more frustrated by the hour. No one seemed to know anything. In fact, until called, no one had even known the couple was missing. After having reassured the at least tenth distant cousin that they would try to find out what had happened, Beckett put her phone down and leaned back, looking at Castle.    
  
“Nothing. Most of them haven’t heard from Ryan and Jenny since the wedding. So wherever they went, if it was of their own free will, they’re not staying with someone of their families.”  
  
“You think Esposito had more luck?” Castle asked.  
  
“No”, she answered, “if he had, he would have told us.”    
  
Castle turned to look at the Latino. He had just put down his phone, too, and angrily crossed something out on a list in front of him. He then started typing on his computer, probably looking up the contacts of the next person.    
  
“You’re right”, he agreed, looking around helplessly for something else to do. They had contacted everyone they knew of and hadn’t learned anything, so they were back to square one. Something Castle could hardly bear. At least not in this case.    
  
His gaze fell on the empty mugs on the desk and he decided to make new coffee once again. At least he felt helpful this way. He stood, picked up the cups and looked at Beckett.  
  
“Yes, thank you”, she answered his unspoken question and he left for the kitchen.  
  
When he returned a few minutes later, Esposito had joined Beckett at her desk. A sense of déja-vu washed over Castle, with the only exception that his fingers weren’t getting burned this time.  
  
“Found out something?” he asked when he set down the mugs.  
  
The younger detective shook his head. “No. They didn’t even know they’re missing.”  
  
“Same here”, Beckett said.  
  
“How can this be?” Castle asked in the following silence.  
  
“No idea. The longer I think about it, the less sense it makes.” Esposito and Castle both nodded at Beckett’s statement.  
  
“Maybe we should go to their apartment again and look if there is something else”, Castle proposed.  
  
“You think I missed something?”, Esposito asked indignantly.  
  
“He means that three pairs of eyes see more than one”, Beckett came to Castle’s aid.  
  
“Exactly”, Castle confirmed.  
  
Esposito harrumphed but didn’t complain any further, he was too desperate to find something.    
  
They had to wait another fifteen minutes until the detectives’ shifts were officially over and Gates couldn’t forbid them from leaving anymore. Which didn’t prevent the captain from sending them a dark glare when all three of them left the minute they were allowed to.  
  
The drive to the Ryans’ place was a silent one, neither of them knew what else there was to say. Long since run out of probable ideas, they just hoped Esposito had overlooked something that would give them a lead.    
  
When they stood in front of the apartment’s door, Castle rang the bell. They could hear the sound reverberate, but no one opened. After a minute and a second ringing Esposito produced the key and started opening the door. Suddenly, he hesitated.  
  
“What is it, Espo?”, Beckett asked when he stopped mid-movement.  
  
“I locked the door twice when I left, I’m sure of it”, he answered. “But right now, it was only on the latch.”    
  
The two detectives exchanged a slightly worried glance and simultaneously drew their weapons. Castle took a step back like Beckett had painstakingly taught him over the course of many cases. It may have been an overreaction from all three of them but almost open doors with no one answering the bell rarely ever meant anything good. And neither of them wanted to be unprepared, least of all in this case.  
  
At a nod from Beckett, Esposito pushed the door open and immediately stepped inside, Beckett followed suit but turned right towards the living room. After only the fracture of a second, both of them stopped dead in their tracks. Castle, who couldn’t see anything but their backs from where he was standing, craned his neck curiously.  
  
“What?”, he asked in a loud whisper.    
  
Beckett lowered her weapon and moved aside so he could follow her in. He had never been to the Ryans’ before but he was pretty sure it usually wasn’t this ... empty. There was nothing inside, not even fluff.    
  
“Don’t they have any furniture?”, he asked the stunned-looking Esposito.  
  
“Yes, they do. It’s just ... gone.” The younger man was completely flabbergasted.    
  
“How can this be?”, Beckett asked while holstering her weapon and moving further into the apartment.  
  
“I don’t know. It was all still here when I checked earlier.” Esposito opened a door that apparently led to the bathroom while Castle checked the kitchen. There was nothing in any of the rooms. The whole interior of the flat had vanished as traceless as its owners.  
  
After a minute of incredulous searching, the three met at the entrance door again.  
  
“Empty. Completely empty”, Castle stated.  
  
“I don’t get it!” Esposito shook his head in disbelief. “It was all here”, he repeated. “This morning it was all still here.” He looked back into the rooms as if he was waiting for the stuff to mysteriously re-appear.  
  
“We should question the neighbours”, Beckett said. “Maybe they’ve seen something. If Ryan and Jenny left alone or who emptied the flat. Anything useful.”  
  
Esposito nodded, checked if he still had the key and closed the door behind them.  
  
They parted, Esposito starting at the right end of the hallway, Castle and Beckett at the left. It was frustrating work, most of the tenants had been at work the whole day and therefor hadn’t seen a thing. The majority didn’t even know who that couple next door was, typical New York, and even those who did only knew of the Ryans as two friendly people who had greeted in the elevator but nothing more.    
  
It first got interesting when Castle and Beckett had almost reached the end of their part of the hallway. The Andersons, an elderly married couple next-door to the Ryans’, had witnessed an army of men carrying out what seemed like everything there was in an apartment in barely three hours.    
  
“And there was a man in a dark suit”, Mrs. Anderson reported. She and her husband were standing in the open door, talking to Castle and Beckett. “He didn’t seem to do anything, just walked in and out and talked on a cell phone. But all the others did the work.”  
  
“Can you describe the others?”, Beckett asked. “And how many were there?”  
  
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe eight?” The woman looked at her husband who nodded.  
  
“Seven, or eight, yes”, he confirmed.  
  
“And they wore overalls, dark blue. With a writing on it. Remover Banell, it said”, Mrs. Anderson continued. “We saw them when we came back from the groceries store, we could hardly pass by, there was such a melee.”  
  
“We wondered what this was about”, her husband joined in. “The Ryans were always so quiet and they loved it here. Only last week did Mrs. Ryan tell me how glad they were to have rent this apartment.”  
  
“It made the whole moving out thing all the more mysterious”, Mrs. Anderson stated at which her husband nodded again.  
  
“And what about the man in the dark suit, can you tell me something about him?” Beckett questioned further while Castle was slightly distracted by Esposito who had obviously finished his half of the hallway and was now walking over to join them.  
  
“There was not much about him, I think”, Mrs. Anderson said and looked at the wall opposite of her, thinking hard. “Not very tall, dark hair... He looked kinda official though, if you know what I mean.”  
  
“Nothing striking?”  
  
The couple looked at each other. “No, sorry”, Mr. Anderson said.  
  
By now, Esposito had reached them and Beckett motioned in his direction, introducing him.  
  
“This is detective Javier Esposito, detective Ryan’s partner. Espo, this is Mr. And Mrs. Anderson.”  
  
“Excuse me, your name is Javier?”, the woman interrupted her. “As in 'Javie'?”  
  
“Yes, why?”, the Latino asked, astounded.  
  
“There was”, she started to explain but then gestured impatiently, “oh, just wait, I’ll go get it.” With that, she disappeared into the back of the apartment.  
  
Castle, Beckett and Esposito looked at Mr. Anderson questioningly.    
  
“This morning there was a note on the floor, someone must have slipped it under the door last night”, he explained. “It says ‘Javie’ on it. We didn’t know where it came from but since it lay there, we thought it must have had a purpose.”  
  
“We didn’t want to throw it away, it just felt wrong”, Mrs. Anderson added. She had returned, a small piece of paper in hand. “Good thing we didn’t, though.” She handed the note to the eager and mystified Esposito who immediately unfolded it after reading his name on top of it. It took him mere seconds to skim the small page. He lowered it, looking in equal parts disappointed and glad.    
  
“Who is it from, what does it say?” Castle asked curiously. Instead of answering, Esposito just handed him the letter so he and Beckett could read it.  
  
The handwriting looked familiar although the note was obviously scribbled in a haste.  
  
_“Javie,_  
  
_can’t explain, check Simon Gallagher,_  
  
_I’m sorry,_  
  
_K.”_  
  
Castle and Beckett looked first at each other then at Esposito. Both of them could understand the feelings displayed on his face only too well. The letter was obviously written by Ryan and it was good to hear from him, but even though it contained a possible lead, it didn’t lessen the mystery at all.    
  
“Thank you, Mr. Anderson, Mrs. Anderson”, Beckett said politely while Castle and Esposito nodded their heads in the couple’s direction. “You did help us a lot! If you remember anything else, please call.” She handed them a business card with her mobile number on the back.  
  
“We will”, Mrs. Anderson said as her husband took it. “And we’re happy to help. Whatever happened to those nice young folks, I’m sure you’ll get behind it”, she added compassionately.  
  
Beckett smiled at her. “Good bye”, she said.  
  
“Bye, dear”, Mrs. Anderson answered and closed the door behind herself and her husband.


	3. Chapter 3

They were in Beckett’s car once again, on their way back to the precinct. They had already clarified that no one but the Andersons had known anything helpful. The rest of the neighbours had either been to work, sleeping after a night shift or watching TV too intently to hear a thing beyond their own four walls. No one Esposito had questioned had been of any help.    
  
Although it was well after working hours, neither of them even thought about going home just yet. Not now. Not when they had finally gotten a lead. A name. A starting point to their investigations.  
  
“You’d think I’d deserve more than this. ‘Can’t explain, I’m sorry’...” Castle could hear Esposito mutter under his breath behind him. He felt compassion at the younger man’s frustrated expression. It was obvious how much the realization that his best friend indeed had had secrets, secrets big enough to be potentially life-changing, gnawed on him. He had started to question their friendship and Castle wasn’t sure it could ever be the way it was before again, no matter what they were going to find out. If Esposito had felt betrayed before, it was nothing compared to what was now displayed on his face. Castle watched the Latino in the rear-view mirror as he folded and unfolded the small piece of paper again and again, brows furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line. He wondered how long it would take for the paper to suffer from irreparable damage.  
  
“Maybe he didn’t have time to explain”, Beckett tried to calm Esposito. “Maybe he was forced to leave in a hurry. Maybe someone was watching him.”  
  
“If there was, how could he have written the note and left it with the Andersons?” Castle asked, which earned him a look from Beckett, silently chiding him ‘not helping!’. He only shrugged in response.  
  
“Different question”, Beckett was determined to keep the conversation going and distract her colleague from his dark thoughts. “Why did he leave it with the Andersons? Why not in his apartment where he could be almost sure we’d find it? Why leave it with the neighbours who might throw it away or where we would possibly never find it?”  
  
“Maybe he knew his place was going to get cleaned out and that the small chance of us finding it elsewhere was worth it”, Castle suggested.  
  
“But how could he have known it was?”, Beckett argued.  
  
“Maybe he ordered it.”  
  
“Why would he? And even if, he could have told the remover to let the note lying on the floor or something. He could even have paid him for sending it to Espo. No, he didn’t order it.”  
  
“So he didn’t order it himself but he must have known it would happen”, Castle concluded.  
  
“Or at least he suspected it. But if he didn’t pay the remover and couldn’t tell him to deliver the note either, he didn’t leave of his own free will. Someone made him leave.”  
  
“But why?” Finally, Esposito stopped staring silently at the piece of paper in his hands and joined the conversation. “And who would force him to leave so quickly he couldn’t even write an explanation? Plus, he obviously wasn’t meant to write it at all, otherwise we would’ve found it directly. So that someone must have watched him, right? But not closely enough for him not to be able to slip it under the neighbours’ door. And who would get all his things out of the apartment? And why?”  
  
“Maybe he was forced to move somewhere else”, Castle suggested.  
  
“If they were simply moving out, why take the toothbrushes, the picture and the underwear before everything else?”  
  
Neither of them had even the slightest idea what to answer, so they helplessly resumed the silence from before for the few remaining minutes until Beckett pulled up in her usual spot on the precinct’s parking deck.  
  
When they got out of the elevator, all three of them automatically scanned the almost empty room. Luckily, Captain Gates had already left for the day. They were pretty sure their superior wouldn’t have approved of what they were doing.  
  
Without saying another word, Esposito rushed over to his desk, sat down and started his computer. Castle and Beckett followed a littler slower and even took the time to nod a greeting towards the other officers still present.  
  
Esposito was already impatiently drumming with his fingertips when the other two reached him. He ignored them as they positioned themselves behind him to look over his shoulders.    
  
As soon as his desktop showed he opened the database and typed in the name Ryan had given them. Simon Gallagher.  
  
Castle realized he had actually held his breath during the second it took the computer to show results.  
  
“Three”, Beckett said. “Three guys called Simon Gallagher in New York City.”  
  
“A banker, a chemist and a former teacher”, Castle read from the screen.  
  
“Any criminal records?”, Beckett asked.  
  
Esposito quickly checked the entries. “No, nothing, all clean.”  
  
“Would’ve been too easy, I guess.”  
  
“What are the three of you doing here?” All of them jumped at the harsh voice coming from behind them. Apparently, Gates hadn’t left after all but merely stepped outside for a minute. “I can’t remember assigning you a case that would require your presence here at this time of day, Detectives Beckett and Esposito. Not to mention you, Mr. Castle.”  
  
 “Captain, sir”, Beckett was obviously too surprised to form a good answer, Castle could feel her standing stiff beside him.  
  
“Yes, Detective Beckett?” The stern woman came closer and there was a soft clicking noise when Esposito inconspicuously closed the window on his computer screen.  
  
“Nothing”, Beckett answered lamely as she couldn’t come up with a credible excuse.  
  
“Then I suggest you go home now. I will see you tomorrow morning.” With that, Gates turned around and left for her office.  
  
Behind Castle, Esposito angrily tried to get up and follow her but Beckett held him back.  
  
“No, Espo, it’s no use. Leave it be.”  
  
“I can’t go home now. Not now. Not when I finally have something to work with.”  
  
“You don’t have a choice, neither of us has”, Beckett said calmly. “Go home, get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow we’ll see, alright?” Castle admired her ability to sound firm and gentle at the same time.  
  
Esposito grimaced but turned his computer off anyway and stood. “Alright”, he said, although without any amount of enthusiasm.  
  
Castle and Beckett followed him out of the precinct. 

* * *

When Castle and Beckett arrived at the precinct the next morning, Esposito was already there, working. Castle looked at the clock hanging on one of the walls, it was just after 7 am.  
  
“Morning, Espo”, Beckett greeted her colleague.    
  
“Morning”, he barley lifted his head.  
  
“What are you doing?”, Castle asked when they were once again standing behind him, looking over his shoulders.  
  
“Checking Ryan’s finances. Maybe I can find a connection to the banker.”  
  
“Okay, we’ll check the teacher and the chemist”, Beckett said and started to leave but Espo held her back.  
  
“The teacher is an 83-year-old guy living in a retirement home. He’s never done anything suspicious in his life, I already looked into him.”  
  
“How long have you been here?” Castle asked surprised.    
  
“Five thirty”, Esposito answered absent-mindedly.  
  
“Have you slept at all?”  
  
“A little”, was the answer to Beckett’s question.    
  
“Just the chemist, then”, she said shaking her head and motioned for Castle to follow her.  
  
“I hope we’ll find Ryan soon”, she stated when she sat down behind her desk. “And if it’s only for the sake of Espo’s health. I mean, I’m worried, too, but if we don’t look out for him, he’ll soon be living on coffee alone.”  
  
“Better find something then”, Castle answered. While Beckett started reading everything she could find on Simon Gallagher the chemist, Castle used his laptop to print out a few things and then started to prepare the white board that usually held all the information they had on a case. When he fastened the pictures of Ryan and Jenny on the board, the realization that they indeed had become a case struck him hard. He stood there, unmoving, looking at the pictures for quite a while until a sharp voice pulled him out of his thoughts.  
  
“Just what do you think you are doing?” Captain Gates had, once more, turned up out of nowhere and startled him as well as Beckett.  
  
“Good morning, sir”, Beckett tried to be polite.  
  
“I don’t see how it’s good if you three continually disobey my direct orders.” The dark-haired woman’s voice was icy.  
  
“Let me explain.”  
  
“There is nothing to explain. Detective Ryan chose to quit his job here, so? It’s a free country, it’s not your place to question him. If he would have wanted you to know where he planned to go and why, I’m sure he would have told you.”  
  
“But sir, that’s just it”, Beckett said as soon as Gates had finished her speech. “We went to his apartment yesterday”, she ignored Gates’ angry look at that, “and it was completely empty.”  
  
“So he moved out”, Gates plainly stated.  
  
“Not of his own free will.”  
  
“How can you know that?” She still didn’t sound too convinced.  
  
“We asked the neighbours if they had seen something and”, Beckett just kept talking although it was obvious Gates wanted to interrupt her, “they had a note for Detective Esposito. They said someone slipped it under the door.”  
  
“And what did this note say?”  
  
Castle, who had silently kept to the background, for once trying not to anger the woman any further, grabbed the paper from the board where he had positioned it only minutes before and handed it to her.  
  
“Hm”, Gates made a vague noise after she had read it.  
  
“And some neighbour saw the team from the movers who got all the Ryans’ stuff out of the apartment. Apparently, there was a man in a dark suit who commanded them”, Beckett continued, sensing her opportunity to get their superior on their side.  
  
“A man in a dark suit, really?” Gates looked at her, amused.  
  
“That’s what the neighbours said.”  
  
“And do you know anything more about him? Have you asked the men from the firm? Or did those neighbours conveniently forget the name of it?”  
  
“No, they didn’t. But we couldn’t check the company yet, we first wanted to find out who Simon Gallagher is.”  
  
“And if I interpret Mr. Castle’s work here correctly, there are three men of that name?”  
  
“Yes, sir. Currently, we’re trying to ascertain who’s the one Detective Ryan was referring to.”  
  
“Hm.” There was the vague noise again. Gates stared at the white board, clearly contemplating what she had just heard. Neither Castle nor Beckett dared to move.  
  
“Alright. I’ll leave you to it”, both of them exhaled in relief at the statement. “But”, Gates emphasised the word, “if there is any real case turning up, I expect you to give your full attention to that one, is that clear?”  
  
“Yes, sir”, Beckett instantly said.  
  
With another sharp look at Castle, Beckett, the white board and last at Esposito who was still sitting behind his desk, the Captain left.  
  
“Ouf”, Castle said and let himself fall into his chair. “That went better than expected. How does this woman manage to scare me so much?”  
  
“I don’t know”, Beckett grinned at him, the severity of the situation momentarily forgotten, “but I should let her teach me. Maybe then you would do what I tell you to.”  
  
“I always do what you tell me to!” Caste said indignantly.  
  
Beckett tilted her head and looked at him.  
  
“Well, almost always”, he admitted.    
  
She raised her eyebrows in amusement and looked back at her computer screen.  
  
“Have you found something yet?”, Castle asked.  
  
She shook her head. “No. Nothing suspicious at least. He’s a chemist at a local company, not a big shot. Moved around a lot but otherwise...”, she trailed off. “Let’s see if this mover can tell us something and then compare notes with Espo. Have you finished with the board?”  
  
“Oh, no, I haven’t.” Castle got up and grabbed for one of the markers lying around to continue his work while Beckett first looked up the firm’s name and then got on the phone. He could vaguely hear her talking behind him but focused on writing.  
  
After a few minutes, there was the distinctive noise of a phone being forcefully put back on the table.    
  
“They won’t tell me”, Beckett said frustrated when Castle looked at her questioningly. “They have orders not to give any information regarding that particular assignment, I was told.”  
  
She moved her hand across her face. “How can all this get more peculiar by the minute? It already started out being a complete mystery!”  
  
Castle was about to answer when they heard Esposito swear.  
  
“Oh, damnit!” His voice was audible even across half the room. They both looked at him just in time to see him throwing his hands in the air. He then folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, staring at his screen, a very dark expression on his face.  
  
“Maybe we should get him over here and start talking this over, don’t you think?”, Castle asked.  
  
“Seems like it”, Beckett answered and raised her voice a little. “Hey, Espo!” When he looked up, she waved him over.  
  
“We thought it might be helpful to compare what we found out”, Beckett explained when he reached them.  
  
“Right on time”, Esposito said grimly. “One more minute and I would have punched the wall.”  
  
“So you got nothing?”, Beckett asked.  
  
“No, nothing at all.” Castle tried to remember if he had ever seen the younger man as frustrated as he was now, but couldn’t think of a single occasion. “I checked the guy twice but he’s a blank sheet. I compared everything I could find on his life with Ryan’s and Jenny’s. Not a single connection. They probably never even met on the street.” He looked at Beckett and Castle. “Anything with the chemist?”  
  
“No, not really”, Esposito let his head hang again at Beckett’s answer. “Only thing they have in common is that they’re Irish. Gallagher moved here with his parents when he was about ten, before that they lived in Dublin.” She thoughtfully looked at her notes.  
  
“Anything else?”, Esposito asked.  
  
“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s not ... Well, could be nothing, but something has my senses tingling.”  
  
“What is it?”    
  
“I already mentioned it to Castle”, she said. “He moved around a lot, and I can’t find a reason why. He lived in places over half the country but never in the same area twice. Except for New York City. Seven years ago, he lived here, then moved and now he’s been back for a few months.”  
  
“Weird”, Castle commented.  
  
“Have you checked his former addresses?”, Esposito inquired.  
  
“Yes, none of them is anywhere near a member of Ryan’s or Jenny’s family. No common relatives or acquaintances, same as with the banker.”  
  
“Huh”, Esposito said. “I see what you mean. This is just the same kind of weird as the rest of the case. Think this is our guy?”  
  
“I’m not sure. But it seems more likely than the other two, don’t you think?” Both Castle and Esposito nodded.  
  
“So, what do we do?” Castle asked. “Pay him a visit?”    
  
“Best option I can think of”, Esposito said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He started to move but suddenly stopped again. “Guess we’ll have to wait until quitting time”, he said with a glance in the direction of Captain Gates’ office.  
  
“No, it’s fine, we talked to her.” Castle was surprised Esposito hadn’t noticed the dispute earlier, but then again, his mind had probably been occupied with his task.  
  
“Alright then, let’s go.” Esposito was clearly eager to leave, clutching at every straw, and neither of the other two could blame him for it.

* * *

They found Gallagher at his workplace, a small plant just outside the city. A co-worker led them to his desk where he was sitting, apparently working on some formulas. He looked up when they approached.  
  
“Simon Gallagher? I’m Detective Beckett, this is Detective Esposito and this Mr. Castle. We’re with the NYPD”, Beckett introduced them.  
  
The man got up and shook their hands, looking curiously at each of them.  
  
“How can I help you?”, he asked friendly.  
  
“Do you know someone called Kevin Ryan?” Esposito inquired.  
  
Gallagher thought about it for a moment but shook his head. “No, I don’t.”  
  
“And what about a Jenny Ryan? Or Jenny O’Malley?”, he offered her birth name.  
  
“No, neither. Sorry!”  
  
“Maybe you’ve seen them somewhere”, Beckett tried and handed him two photographs, one of them each. Gallagher looked at them for a few seconds but finally shook his head again.    
  
“No, I don’t think so. What happened to them, why do you ask?”  
  
“They went missing and we got a lead that maybe you could help us.”  
  
“I’m sorry, I really am, but I don’t think I’ve heard of them in my life. Or seen them...” He looked at the pictures again. “No”, he said apologetic.  
  
“Well, thanks anyways”, Beckett took the pictures back. “We’ll let you get back to your work then.”  
  
Suddenly, Castle had an idea. He held up his hand. “Wait. Mr. Gallagher, what exactly are you working on?”  
  
The question earned him a surprised glance from the man in front of them and a small approving nod from Beckett next to him. “We do research on how to most efficiently recycle plastics of all kinds. Bags, bottles and the like”, Gallagher answered.  
  
“Ok, thanks. Now we’ll leave you to it”, Castle said and nodded his good bye. Before they left, Beckett handed Gallagher her business card. “Call me, if you remember anything.”  
  
“I will”, he said and took the card, placing it in his pocket. “Good bye!”  
  
With that, Castle, Beckett and Esposito left, having found nothing but another dead end. Since the plant was placed outside the city bounds it had taken them quite some time to get to it and until they were back at the precinct it was almost evening.  
  
Castle looked at his watch. “I promised to have dinner with Alexis tonight”, he suddenly remembered. He looked at the other two, unsure what to do.    
  
“I’d say you go home”, Beckett said. “We can’t do anything more at the moment anyways.”  
  
“Really?”, he asked, feeling bad about leaving the others while Ryan was still missing.  
  
“Yeah, really, man”, Esposito agreed with Beckett. “See you tomorrow!” With that, the younger man left.  
  
“It’s ok”, Beckett told him when he looked at her, still not sure if it was alright to go. “Maybe an evening away from the case will clear your head and you will get a new view on all this.”    
  
“Maybe you’re right.” He took a thorough look around and when he was certain, there was no one near to witness him, he shortly kissed the completely surprised Beckett.  
  
“See you tomorrow”, he told her grinning smugly when she blushed and frantically looked around.  
  
“Castle!”, she whispered, more shocked than angry, but he just kept grinning and left.

* * *

When Alexis arrived an hour later, Castle was already half-way through preparing the meal.  
  
“Hi, dad!”, she called from the door as soon as she had entered.  
  
“Hi, Alexis!” She threw her bag on the floor next to the stairs and came over to him.  
  
“Looks delicious”, she said and dipped her finger into the pudding he was just preparing for dessert. “And tastes delicious, too!”  
  
“Thanks. How was your day?”  
  
“It was crazy”, she answered.  
  
“How so?”, he asked, his index finger still in his mouth from tasting the pudding himself.  
  
“This morning, there stormed like ten policemen and five dogs into the auditorium, halfway through the first lecture. They were on a raid for drugs. Someone tipped them off, said there was a drug ring with dealers all among the students on campus and so they came to the lectures with the most people first.” She gestured excitedly while she was talking. “It took them ages to check everybody in there, I mean, there were somewhat five hundred of us. Some people actually tried to sneak out of the room”, she shook her head. “Most of them only carried a bit of weed but some actually had hard stuff, heroin and so on, and loads of it. The whole day there was nothing else anyone on campus talked about.”  
  
While she was telling the story, it dawned on Castle. Suddenly, the missing link became obvious. He could have slapped himself for not seeing it earlier. He stared into nothingness while the puzzle pieces fell into place.  
  
“Dad?” He realized Alexis was waving a hand before his unseeing eyes. “Dad, are you alright?”, she asked.  
  
“Yes. Yes, sorry”, he said absent-mindedly. “I just... You made me see something.” He looked at her. “Sorry, darling, I have to get back to the precinct.”    
  
“But...” He didn’t even wait for her to finish, he had already grabbed his jacket and was heading for the door.    
  
“Sorry. Make yourself comfortable. Your grandma should be home soon.” And with that, he left his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, anyone figured out where this is heading? If so, tell me :-)


	4. Chapter 4

“Beckett! Espo!” Both detectives started at the sudden call. They looked in the direction the voice had come from and saw Castle hurrying towards them. 

“Castle!”, Beckett exclaimed surprised. “What are you doing here? Is everything alright with Alexis?” 

“Yes, yes, she’s fine”, he answered, slightly out of breath and stopped next to Beckett’s desk. “I found out!”, he told them without further delay. 

“You found out what?”, Esposito, who was sitting on his by now habitual place at the corner of the table, asked. 

“What Gallagher has to do with Ryan. I found the connection!” 

“How?” Beckett asked, while Esposito exclaimed “What is it?” 

“Alexis made me realize it. She told me about a razzia on campus today. For drugs.” Castle could literally see understanding flash across the other twos’ faces.  

“Drugs, that’s it!” Esposito jumped from the table and excitedly walked over to the white board, pointing at one of the pictures. “Simon Gallagher is a chemist so he knows how to manufacture all kinds of substances.”  

“Including drugs”, Beckett interrupted him. “And he’s Irish.” 

“The mob!” Esposito concluded. 

“Exactly.” Castle had to admit, he was quite proud of himself for figuring it out first. “The Irish mob, which is known for dealing on a grand scale. I bet he’s working for them.” 

“And Ryan was with Narcotics before he switched to the murder squad, right?” Although Beckett’s question clearly was rhetorical, the others nodded.  

“So maybe he arrested him back in the day”, Esposito suggested. 

“If so, Gallagher would have known him”, Beckett contradicted him. 

“Maybe he just said he didn’t.” 

“Why would he? Plus, he didn’t seem like he was playacting. I don’t think he pretended.” 

“No”, Castle said, “me neither. As far as I can see, our best option is to ask the ones who could know about it.” 

“His old team.” 

“Yep.” 

“Lark”, Esposito suddenly said. 

“Hm?”, Castle and Beckett both looked at him, uncomprehending. 

“Captain Alan Lark”, he repeated. “His old boss. Ryan mentioned him a few times. Always spoke highly of him.” 

“Well, let’s hope we’ll get a hold of him at this time of night”, Beckett said with a glance at her watch. It was already past nine. 

“Won’t know until you try”, Castle said and took her telephone from the desk, handing it to her. 

She pressed a speed dial and waited. 

“Yes, Detective Beckett here. Could you patch me through to Captain Lark? Thanks.” A few seconds passed during which a tensed silence spread between them. 

“Captain Lark, sir, good evening”, Beckett suddenly said. “I’m Detective Kate Beckett, murder squad. I’m a colleague of Kevin Ryan’s, former detective of your team.” Another moment of silence. “Yes, exactly. Do you mind if I put you on speaker?” Pause. “Thanks, sir.” She lowered the phone and pressed a button. 

“There are Detective Esposito, Ryan’s partner, and Richard Castle present”, she shortly introduced.  

“Good evening, sir”, the ones mentioned said in unison. 

“Good evening, gentlemen”, came a deep, friendly voice. 

“I hope we do not interrupt something important, sir?”, Beckett said respectfully. 

“No, no, it’s quite alright. Just a late night at the office, there are some reports due in the next days. What can I help you with?” 

“We have a few questions about Detective Ryan’s time with your squad we hoped you have answers for. Yesterday, he hasn’t shown up for work and there was a letter with his resignation. But when we tried to reach him, he didn’t answer his phone. We checked his apartment, there first were only a few things missing and when we went there a second time, the whole apartment was empty.”  

“Doesn’t sound like the Ryan I know”, Lark stated. 

“Our thoughts exactly”, Esposito piped in. He then realized what he had done and quickly added “Sorry I interrupted. Detective Esposito, sir.” 

“Oh, no problem, son.” They heard the clearly older man chuckle. “So, what leads you to the assumption that I could be of any help?" 

“We found a note Detective Ryan left for Detective Esposito”, Beckett explained. “He mentioned a Simon Gallagher. And when we checked him and found out he’s a chemist, we drew the conclusion they must have had to do with each other during Ryan’s time with the narcotics squad.” 

“Good thinking”, Lark complimented. “Yes, back in the day Ryan was the one who found out about Gallagher’s involvement with the Irish mob. In fact, he found out a lot of useful things, he was undercover for fourteen months. One of the most successful operations an agent of ours ever managed to complete.” 

Castle, Beckett and Esposito exchanged surprised looks. None of them had known about that part of their friend’s life, he had never mentioned it. They started to see him in a whole new light. To go undercover demanded a level of skill and dedication only few officers possessed. And neither of them had thought Ryan the adventurous type. The always three-piece suit wearing man had seemed the most inept of the three detectives, unbeatable at desk work but not the one for heavy missions. They had always thought there was a reason for Esposito being the one with the past in Special Forces. Apparently, they had heavily underestimated their colleague. 

Beckett managed first to pull herself out of the amazement. “Sorry, sir, that was news to us, he never mentioned he was undercover”, she explained the sudden silence on their part.  

“So it seems he’s still as modest as he was back then”, Lark mused. “But yes, he was with the Irish mob for over a year, going by the name of Fenton O’Connell. He made it up pretty high in the chain of command. I’d send you the file but naturally it’s as classified as it can get, so my hands are tied.” 

“Not a problem. And thank you, sir”, Beckett said. “But there’s one thing we don’t understand. How did Simon Gallagher not recognize Ryan’s photograph when we showed it to him? His ignorance seemed legit.” 

“Yes, I do believe that. The two of them never met, as far as I know. Ryan got ordered back shortly after he found out the name, it was becoming too dangerous for him to stay with the mob. Only months later he switched to the murder squad so he wouldn’t come face to face with dealers and the like as often. The risk of him being recognized by a gang member became too big.” 

For the second time that evening, something in Castle’s head snapped into place. 

“That’s what happened”, he exclaimed, not caring that he had interrupted the conversation unasked. “He got recognized and had to disappear.” He proudly looked at the others who clearly thought it over. Fortunately, Beckett had the presence of mind to explain for Captain Lark. 

“That was Richard Castle, sir, a consultant of our team.” 

“Yes, I heard about it, the author”, Lark answered. “But there’s a problem with your theory, Mr. Castle.” 

Castle looked indignantly at the telephone. “Is there?”, he asked. 

“If someone recognized him, Detective Ryan must have gotten to know about it somehow, otherwise he couldn’t have left. And it wasn’t through my department. We haven’t heard a single unusual thing from the gang in months. It was quiet around them, relatively speaking.” 

“And what if the gang found him first and took him?”, Castle thought out loud. 

“They wouldn’t have taken him and they certainly wouldn’t have emptied the apartment”, Esposito said.  

“No”, Lark agreed. “They would have dealt with him in a much quicker way.” All three of them shuddered at the implication. 

“So what happened then?”, Esposito asked. 

“I don’t know”, Lark said. “And I’m afraid I have to leave you to it for now. There is a call on the second line I have to take. Please keep me informed. Detective Ryan was an excellent member of my team, I would hate to lose him years after we thought we’d gotten him out of the danger zone.” 

“We will, sir. Have a good evening”, Beckett said. 

“You too”, Lark answered and hung up. 

Beckett put the phone back onto its base and looked at the others. “That certainly explains a lot”, she stated. 

“I can’t believe he never mentioned he was undercover”, Esposito said. “All those times I teased him about me being from Special Forces and he from Narcotics and he never said a thing.” He shook his head in disbelief. 

“Apparently not all men are as braggy, then”, Beckett said lightly and Esposito indignantly opened his mouth to defend himself but she cut him off. 

“But that’s not the point at the moment. We finally have an idea what happened to him, don’t we?” 

“Yes”, Castle said. “If he didn’t leave voluntarily, and we already excluded that possibility, and wasn’t taken by the mob, there is only one option left.” 

“Witness protection program”, Beckett ended his train of thought for him. 

“But how?” Esposito stared off into nothingness. “How could he have known someone recognised him, if that is indeed what happened?” 

“A whistle-blower”, Castle guessed. “There must be someone else amongst the mob who secretly works against them. That someone heard about Ryan being recognized and informed the authorities.” 

“Only that Lark said he hasn’t heard anything from the gang. And he’s head of the department, he would know if there was something.” 

All three of them fell silent, thinking. The most obvious explanation was that Lark hadn’t been honest with them, but neither of them even considered the possibility. The man had seemed to be too honest in his care for Ryan. And the latter had a good instinct when it came to people, so if he trusted Lark explicitly, they did, too. At least until proven wrong. 

“The FBI!” This time, it was Esposito who had the idea. “The Andersons’ told us there was a man in a dark suit when they saw the movers.” 

“And dark suit doesn’t sound like NYPD but like FBI”, Castle said. “Espo, I’m proud of you for thinking of them before I did.” 

“That is indeed unusual”, Beckett said under her breath. “Alright, so the FBI has a whistle-blower who informed them of Ryan being in danger so they got him out”, she summarized. “The witness protection program certainly explains the missing things from the beginning.” 

“Usually, you’re not allowed to take any personal stuff, but they made an exception for the photograph, it’s inconspicuous”, Castle started to list the objects, counting them off on his fingers. “You can’t take clothing with you, there could be pieces among it that get recognized on the street, but underwear is safe since no one gets to see that. The rest has to be bought freshly wherever you end up afterwards. And the toilet bags plus content are safe, too, and allow the people in question a small amount of comfort.” 

“Yeah, seems logical, but if this really is what happened, why wasn’t Lark informed?”, Esposito asked. “I mean, yes, the FBI is behind all this but why didn’t they inform the NYPD? They’re working the same case!” 

“As if the FBI ever shares something with anyone as long as they’re not forced to do so”, Castle said. 

“Sounds about right”, Beckett supported him. 

Esposito thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, so we know what happened. But there are two questions remaining.” The others looked at him. 

“If Gallagher is indeed working for the mob and the police knows about it, why wasn’t there anything in his files? He seemed clean, not a single mentioning of there being a connection between him and the Irish mob.” 

The question caught Castle and Beckett off guard. They both had been too glad to think twice about what they had found out. At least for now. 

“Uhm”, Castle said, thinking hard, but for once not being able to come up with a satisfying answer. 

“I’d say we ask Lark once more. I’m sure there’s a good explanation”, Beckett said. “It’s not that much later, I’ll try reaching him again.” She grabbed her phone once more and pressed the necessary button. 

“Detective Beckett again. Is Captain Lark still available?” She waited a second. “Yes, thank you.” A few moments later, she started talking again. “Good evening, sir, it’s Detective Beckett again.” The man at the other end of the line said something and Beckett laughed lightly. “Yes, sir. May I put you...”. She didn’t even get to finish the sentence. “Thank you, sir.” She lowered the phone again, pressed a button and positioned it back on the table. 

“We think we figured out what happened”, she started to explain. 

“Oh”, Lark sounded honestly pleased. “So?” 

“We suspect Ryan and his wife are in witness protection, put there by the FBI. You said it wasn’t through your department and when we remembered that his neighbours saw a man in a dark suit, it was the logical explanation. The FBI must have a whistle-blower who told them and so they got him out.” 

“Uh hum”, Lark said. “And of course, they wouldn’t tell us about it because they never do.” He sounded annoyed. “They think half of our department is corrupt and hence refuse to co-operate with us. We’ve had that argument at least twenty times. They just won’t see how much more effective we could be if we were working together.” He sounded truly angry and neither of them could blame him for it. They had stopped counting how often they had had to fight the FBI’s arrogance before. “But now’s not the time to rage about that”, Lark said, calmer. “Did you just call to tell me that?” 

“No, sir”, Beckett answered. “We have a question, something we can’t explain to ourselves.” 

“Then shoot.” 

“When we got the name from Ryan, we first checked Simon Gallagher’s criminal record but there was nothing in his files. We didn’t think anything of it at the time but when you told us, you knew of his involvement with the mob, well...”, she trailed off. 

“You want to know how that can be?” Lark sounded a tiny bit amused. “Yes, comprehendible, I have to admit, it does seem a bit suspicious. You see, only very few people know of Gallagher, even inside the mob. He’s one of their best kept secrets. When Ryan learned of his role in the organisation, we decided it best to keep the fact out of the files so there was not the least chance someone could hack them and learn what we know. We kind of see Gallagher as our secret weapon. If we, at some point in time, should be able to strike against the mob on a larger scale than just arresting a few of their dealers, we hope we can use Gallagher as leverage, because no one knows we know about him.” 

Beckett nodded to herself, satisfied by the answer. “Thank you, sir. I hope we don’t have to jeopardize your plan with our investigations.” 

“Yes, I do, too”, Lark said, humour in his voice. “Should that be all? I was almost off to finally going home.” 

“Yes, sir. Of course. Good evening, once more.” 

“Thanks, to you, too.” And he hung up. 

“See, perfectly logical explanation”, Beckett said. “So, Espo, you said there were two questions remaining.” 

The man looked at her, needing a second to understand what she was talking about and another to remember what he had meant. “Yeah. Now that we know what happened, we need a plan to get Ryan back. So, the second question is: How do we do that?” 

Before Beckett could respond in any way, Castle interrupted. “Guys, before we start, please let me get us some coffee. It’s almost ten already and I don’t think we’ll be out of here in the next few minutes. So if you want me to stay awake in the foreseeable future, let me intoxicate myself with some caffeine.” 

“Good idea”, Beckett agreed and Esposito nodded. 

“Thanks, man.” 

A few minutes later, Castle came back from the kitchen. In an attempt to carry three pots of coffee without burning his fingers, he had successfully looked for a tray which he now held in front of him. When he walked up to the desk, he noticed the three of them were the only ones left. All others had long since gone home.  

Beckett sat in her chair, eyes closed and leaning back while Esposito was walking up and down. Castle noticed how much better the younger man seemed, now that they knew what had happened to his best friend and were looking for a way to get him back. 

He set down the tray, causing Beckett to open her eyes again and Esposito to come over. He handed them each a cup and earned crooked smiles for his solution to not get his fingers burned. 

He took his seat next to the desk while the younger man grabbed himself a chair and pulled it over. Beckett simply straightened up and leaned on the table in front of her. 

“So, where do we start?” Castle looked at the others expectantly. 

“Good question”, Beckett answered. “We don’t know where they are and we can’t really find out. And there is the Irish mob, intent on taking revenge on Ryan for infiltrating them as soon as they lay eyes on him.” Her summary of the situation didn’t exactly sound bright. 

“So we won’t get him back until the threat’s eliminated, right?” Castle asked, more for getting his thoughts in order than because he didn’t know. 

“Right”, Esposito joined the conversation. “But how are we gonna do that? We’re talking the whole of the Irish mob here. Dozens of criminals.” 

“Guess that means we have to find a way to take them out”, Castle continued to theorize.  

“Take them out? One of the biggest gangs in New York City?” Beckett sounded highly doubtful. “I can’t imagine that’s possible. I mean, there’s a reason for institutions like the drug squad. If they can’t get a hold of them, the three of us sure won’t either.” 

“Don’t be so pessimistic”, Castle chided her. „I’m sure there is a way, we only need to find it.” 

“Don’t you think that’s easier said than done?”, Esposito said. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.” 

“Don’t tell me you give up so early just because it’s complicated”, Castle said. “Where’s your imagination? Your belief in the impossible?” 

“I’m a cop. I don’t even believe in human nature, so how do you expect me to believe in miracles?”  

Castle clicked his tongue and made a dismissive gesture. “Well, lucky then I’m here, ready to think of the impossible.” He fell silent, clearly thinking. The others looked at him, waiting and curious for what he’d come up with this time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand there's the explanation. Guess now you all know which episode I got my inspiration from ;-)  
> I'd be delighted could you tell me what you think of my solution!


	5. Chapter 5

The clock neared one in the morning when Castle was finally out of ideas. He had wrecked his brain for possibilities but every single one of them had proved to be faulty when he, Beckett and Esposito had talked it through. It simply didn’t seem possible, the two detectives had been right about it.

“No, it can’t be. I don’t accept it. I just don’t accept it. No!” He ran his hand through his hair. “There has to be something we can do.”

“Man, calm down”, Esposito said. The younger man had slowly but surely given up. Over the course of three hours with only dead ends and no light at the other end of the tunnel in sight, he had at some point started accepting it. Started to get used to the fact that he would most likely never see his best friend again. “Maybe there really is no way.”

But Castle shook his head vigorously. His imagination had never let him down, he had always found a solution. He couldn’t bear the thought that this could be the first time he’d fail. Damnit, it was his job to solve everything. How often had he had to save Derek Storm from a hopeless situation? How often had he had to find a way for Nikki Heat to beat impossible odds? He would not give up! Not when it concerned his real life with real people and real problems.

“Castle, we can’t help him.” Beckett, too, had lost her hope, at least for the moment. “Maybe we should just accept that it’s better that he and Jenny are safe somewhere than in danger here. We can’t beat the mob, they’re too big.”

Castle harrumphed, still not willing to let go. He let his head sink into his hands, eyes closed, trying to concentrate again. Beckett and Esposito looked at each other, but before either one could say anything, another, completely unexpected, sound pierced through the silence.

Castle started at the shrill ringing. It was his cell phone. He grabbed it from his inner jacket pocket and looked at the screen before he answered it.

“Alexis, hey. Everything alright?”

“Dad!” His daughter sounded slightly upset. “Why didn’t you answer?”

“Why..?” He was confused. “But I did, we’re talking, aren’t we?”

“I mean the texts”, came the response.

“What texts?” It took him a moment to get what she was talking about. “Oh, texts. Sorry, I have the alarm turned down so I didn’t notice. Why? Was it important? Do you need something?”

“Dad, you just ran off, not telling me why or whereto. Of course it was important, I didn’t even know where you’ve been.”

“Sorry, Alexis.” And he meant it. “It’s just this case we’re working. I pieced together something and I had to tell the others. I’ll explain later, promise. And I’ll make it up to you. We just have to solve this first, okay?”

“Okay.” As usually, Alexis didn’t seem to be able to be upset with him for more than a few minutes. “So, I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Yeah, talk to you later”, he said and hung up, instantly re-focusing on the problem at hand. Beckett and Esposito had just silently watched the conversation, getting what Alexis had wanted from hearing Castle’s answers.

“You didn’t tell her?”, Beckett asked surprised.

“Uhm, no. Didn’t have the chance to”, Castle said sheepishly. “When she came home she instantly told me about the raid and then I came back here.”

Esposito just shook his head, wordlessly.

Suddenly, Castle had an idea. Apparently, the interruption and the need to focus on something else had cleared his head. It had been so obvious, how could it have taken him so long to come up with it?

“Guys, I think I’ve got it!”, he exclaimed.

“Hm?” Both looked at him confused.

“How we can get Ryan and Jenny back. I know how.”

To his frustration, neither Beckett nor Esposito looked too excited, they both wore an expression of scepticism.

“And?”, Esposito asked. “How?”

“It’s pretty easy, actually. Easier than we thought”, Castle started to explain. “We have to get back to the beginning. Until now we were working on the assumption that we have to eliminate the whole of the Irish mob. But what if we don’t?”

“How else do you want to hinder them from identifying Ryan as Fenton O’Connell and kill him?” Esposito asked, still not understanding where this was heading.

“By making them believe there is no one they feel the need to kill.” This statement earned him even more confused looks from both the detectives. “The original threat was only posed by one person, right? The one who identified Ryan and told others about it. So we only have to discredit that one person.” He looked at them, waiting for them to finally catch up on his brilliant plan. But no such luck.

“And how exactly do you want to do that?” Esposito asked. “You first needed to find out who that person was, then find something to discredit him with, then place the most likely false evidence and then make the others believe it. Oh, and when you’ve done all that, you have to find a way to stop them from going after Ryan the next time someone sees him.” 

“Don’t make it sound so impossible, it’s not!” Castle refused to let himself be dragged down. “We just have to make it look like that someone wanted to use Ryan as a distraction from himself. Maybe we can plant the already mentioned false evidence about that person embezzling money or something. Then we make them believe he or she saw Ryan who looked like that O’Connell guy and decided to set them on Ryan so he had time to disappear with the money.”

Beckett and Esposito started to look a bit more optimistic but still sceptical.

“But even if that works, what should stop them from keeping their eyes open for Ryan anyways?” Beckett questioned. “If they got suspicious about there being an undercover agent once, they might not stop looking for him.”

“Correct. But we can use that to our advantage.” Castle almost grinned at her.

“How so?” Now, Esposito was curious. He allowed himself the tiniest piece of hope. 

“We have to fake a death certificate for O’Connell”, Castle explained. “They will look into Ryan’s alter ego but if we can make them believe he’s dead, they’ll be satisfied.”

Beckett and Esposito thought about it for a moment. The idea seemed far-fetched, unrealistic, insane even. But then again... It was an option. Probably their only option if they wanted their friend and colleague back. And it wouldn’t be the first time one of Castle’s impossible theories would prove to be correct. Only that this time his theory was about something that hadn’t happened yet... 

“Only one problem, a major one, I might add”, Beckett pointed out. “Just how do you want to do that in the end? Not like you can just walk into HQ and tell them someone betrayed them.”

“No, of course not”, Castle answered. “We’ll ask the FBI for help.”

“The FBI? Really?” Esposito looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “As if they would ever even consider helping us.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure they won’t. Do you have any idea what it costs to put someone in witness protection? New identities, new clothing, a whole new existence... I did research once for a Derek Storm novel and I can tell you, if we offer the FBI a safe way to get two people back to their old lives, they won’t complain.” Castle sounded so optimistic, Beckett let herself dare to hope there might really be a chance of getting everything back to normal.

“Guess we should visit the FBI first thing next morning then”, she said.

* * *

Even though Castle had made what possibly was the main break-through in where the Ryan’s were and how they would manage to get them back, it had only just been the beginning. It had been one in the morning when they had finally found a way to return Ryan and Jenny safely to their home, but that did in no way mean there was nothing left to think about. By now it was well past four o’clock and Castle as well as Beckett and Esposito were completely worn out.

They had quickly agreed that if they could offer a deliberate plan, the FBI would be more likely to hear them out and hopefully eventually grant them their help. 

There had been more things to consider than they had originally thought of. After the cautious joy at having found hope had subsided, questions had come up that needed to be answered and each of them was willing to discuss them as long as necessary even if it meant a night shift.

Castle had once again gone to get them coffee. The more often he used the espresso machine the more he congratulated himself on sponsoring it back when he had been new to the team. Although, thinking of it, he hadn’t been part of it then. It had taken a while for him to get fully accepted by the other three. Sometimes it overwhelmed him that he indeed had managed in the end. His entire life he had been liked and popular, but never before had he been so close to people who weren’t his family. He would do anything for them when it came to it, and he knew they would for him, too. The feeling that gave him was hard to grasp but he knew he would never want to miss it. Which made his will to get Ryan back even stronger. He wouldn’t accept losing one member of his chosen family to something as stupid as the Irish mob.

When he had returned with the three mugs, again using the tray he had found earlier, the others had both used the time to stretch their legs. These office chairs really weren’t the most comfortable ones, no matter that the officers had to sit in them hours on end on occasion. He had placed the cups in front of each of their places and had sat down, Beckett and Esposito following his example.

“Okay, let’s see. We need the death certificate for Fenton O’Connell”, Beckett had stated, going straight to business. She had then taken a pen from the desk and scribbled it down on a notepad. 

“We have to make sure place and cause of death sound realistic”, Esposito had added. “They sure will check it out.” Beckett nodded.

“Next we need to think of a way to frame the person who identified Ryan after finding out who it was.” She had written down her own statement.

“I think for that we could use the FBI’s whistle-blower”, Castle had suggested.

“That’d only work if he or she is somehow powerful amongst the mob”, Beckett had pointed out. “Otherwise that someone wouldn’t be able to do whatever is needed.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. This is the FBI we’re talking about, not some small police department. Do you really think they would have someone without insight at the inside?” Castle had looked expectantly at the others but had only earned raised eyebrows, silently asking ‘seriously?’.

“Oh come on, guys, that pun wasn’t half bad!”

“Castle, it’s the middle of the night and this is important. Maybe we could concentrate on the matter rather than joking around?”

“You’re no fun”, he had stated but kept silent otherwise.

Beckett had shaken her head at his boyish behaviour but returned to the matter at hand without further commenting.

* * *

In the end, Beckett’s notepad was full, some things on it highlighted, others crossed out. Now, it contained their plan for what to suggest to the FBI.

Most of the time they had spent on research for the death certificate. Coming up with believable facts hadn’t been a problem, but making sure they checked out had. While it had only taken ten minutes to agree that Fenton O’Connell had been killed in prison where he was sitting for criminal assault and illegal gun possession, deciding on which prison had proven to be difficult. At some point Esposito had noted that they needed to make sure that no other member of the gang or a known associate had been at the same prison around that time. Otherwise, the whole bluff could easily blow up in their faces. So they had to spent the next hours with creating lists of people they had to check for and then going over the lists of inmates and their connections to the outside. Eventually, Beckett had found a prison in Texas which seemed to fit their criteria but to be entirely sure, they had checked it a second time, even more thoroughly.

Now, they had finally gathered all the facts they thought they needed and neither of them had any energy left. In some ways, sitting around a desk all night trying to concentrate and figure things out was more demanding than being out investigating. The silence and darkness around them plus the lack of physical exercise had made them sleepy, no matter how much coffee they had consumed beforehand.

Seeing it was only three hours until they needed to show up again at the precinct anyways, Castle suggested instead of going home, they could use the time better and simply crush on the couches in the adjoining rooms. At first, Beckett was a bit unsure, but after a minute of Castle’s argumentation and three yawns on the part of Esposito she succumbed. If she was honest with herself, she hadn’t any motivation to go out on the streets now anyways. She was simply too tired.

No matter they still worried about Ryan, although now they knew about a hundred times as much as a few hours before, it took neither of them more than five minutes to fall asleep after they had lied down onto the different sofas.


	6. Chapter 6

The first rays of sunlight penetrated the twilight inside the precinct when Captain Victoria Gates arrived. She was early, as usual. Sleeping long had never been her style, so years ago she had taken to starting work before most others. She liked the silence in the morning when everybody else was still asleep. Well, as asleep as the better part of New York ever was.   
  
She exited the elevator and entered the huge room that had become the center of her life over the past year. She half expected to see Detective Esposito already sitting behind his desk, working. The man always was a dedicated officer but since his partner had quit so suddenly, he was even more eager than usual. Since Detective Beckett had explained the situation to her the day before, Gates could understand why he was so set on doing something, why they all were, but until now she hadn’t quite managed to bring herself to approve. Of course, Detective Ryan’s disappearance was unusual, maybe even suspicious, but she hadn’t seen enough proof to fully agree with her Detectives’ assessment of the situation yet.    
  
So when the room was empty, she was shortly confused. But then again, the Detectives Beckett and Esposito had probably worked late so they would only turn up today when they needed to. The empty mugs on Beckett’s desk certainly spoke of a long night. Although Gates noticed there were three of them. That must mean Mr. Castle had come back again. She still didn’t know what to make of him. He wasn’t an officer so he had no business around the precinct, in her opinion, but he seemed to be an honest man and although he got on her nerves more often than not, she had to admit he had indeed helped solving some of the cases. Not that she would say that out loud if not forced to. The man’s ego was big enough already, no need to boost it any further.    
  
Gates walked along the desks towards her office. She had almost reached the door when she heard something. Fabric rustling and movement. She looked up and scanned her surroundings. All empty, no question. But to be sure, she went to check the adjoining rooms. First the one where they questioned witnesses and talked to the relatives.

She peered through the window before approaching the door and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. Detective Esposito lay sprawled across one of the couches, using his leather jacket as a blanket. His shoes lay a few feet away, obviously thrown to the ground without too much care. Gates inhaled sharply. Dedication to one’s work was one thing but this went too far.

When she started to move again, her gaze fell on two more pairs of shoes, one neatly placed next to the other, on the foot of the second couch. Detective Beckett was lying on it, in a similar manner as her colleague. And beside her, Mr. Castle. Gates’ first thought was that she hadn’t known the sofa was extendible, but then she realized just what she was seeing. Her Detective and the writer were lying on the same couch, only inches apart. She wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or if it meant something, but she made sure she would keep it in mind and have an eye on the two of them and their behaviour towards each other. At last, she remembered that this was a police department, not a motel. So even if she did understand the threes’ determination to find out what happened to Detective Ryan, and even if those two were lying next to each other only by chance, this was a bit too much.   
  
She took a deep breath and entered the room, placing herself at the doorframe, arms crossed.   
  
“Detective Beckett, Detective Esposito, Mr. Castle.” She didn’t even need to raise her voice, instantly all three of them stirred.     
  
Detective Beckett was the first one to fully awake. It took only a second for her to sit up, eyes open and taking in the situation.   
  
“Captain Gates, sir”, she said hastily after spotting her superior in the doorframe. “Good morning.”   
  
Gates ignored the greeting. “Would you care to explain this?”, she asked icily.    
  
By now, the two men were sitting upright, too, but were clearly sleepier than their female companion. Both looked at Gates sheepishly, wisely keeping their mouths shut.   
  
“I’m sorry, Captain”, Detective Beckett started to explain, straightening up a bit more. “I am aware that this is absolutely inappropriate”, she gestured vaguely, not clarifying if she meant the whole situation or just Castle and herself.   
  
“Is it indeed”, Gates commented, unmoving.   
  
“We had a break through regarding the whereabouts of Detective Ryan and his wife last night”, the detective continued.   
  
Gates raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised or if she had expected this. But it certainly meant that her personnel would soon return to their original tasks, which definitely pleased her. “So, where are they?”, she asked.   
  
“Well, not actually the exact place”, the other woman clarified. “But we figured out what happened and how we can get things back to normal.”   
  
“I’m all ears.”   
  
“Castle found the connection between the man mentioned in the note, Simon Gallagher, and Detective Ryan. Both the men are Irish and both of them belong or once belonged to the Irish mob.” Now, Gates definitely was surprised. But before she could say anything, Detective Beckett continued.   
  
“Ryan was with Narcotics before he joined Homicide and was undercover for fourteen months. There, he found out about Gallagher’s involvement with them. He’s a chemist supplying them with drugs. We talked to his old boss, Captain Lark, and pieced together what must have happened. In all likelihood someone of the mob identified Ryan. But before anything could happen, a whistle-blower informed the authorities and both Ryan and his wife were put in witness protection.”   
  
Gates wasn’t sure what to think of the explanation. It sounded more like one of Mr. Castle’s wild theories than an actual story. And there was a mistake in the train of thought.   
  
“If so, why weren’t we informed of his division’s actions by Captain Lark?”   
  
“Because he didn’t know about it. According to Ryan’s neighbours, there was a man in a dark suit supervising the team of removers. We assume the FBI is involved, rather than the NYPD.”   
  
“Hm.” Gates didn’t know what to say to that. “And you’re sure about this?”, she finally asked.   
  
“It’s the only explanation that fits all the facts”, Beckett nodded.   
  
Gates quickly thought it through, remembering everything her detective had told her the day before and found that she had to agree. What wasn’t clear to her though, was, how on earth the three people in front of her wanted to reverse what had happened.   
  
“And what exactly do you intend to do about it, assuming your guess is correct?”, she asked, loosening her still rigid stance a bit.   
  
Beckett started to explain and when she reached the end of their plan, Gates had to admit, it was quite a piece of clever thinking. Which didn’t mean she had much hope for it to have any chance of success.    
  
“So I take it you intend to contact the FBI today?”   
  
“Yes, sir, we do.” Gates could see Beckett eyeing her carefully. It was not lost on her how little her detectives trusted her. Still. Roy Montgomery had been quite the opposite of her and as much as they all had liked him, with as much suspicion they eyed her now, even after over a year. She wasn’t one to give much about what others thought of her, she couldn’t, seeing that she had worked with the Department of Internal Affairs for years. But she had made the observation that work was much easier when her colleagues and her subordinates accepted her.    
  
“Well then, only one question remains unanswered.” She saw the glance the three before her quickly shared, knowing they had interpreted her dropping the topic right – she allowed them to go as long as nothing else came up.   
  
“Yes, sir?”   
  
“Why were you using the precinct as a motel? While working through the night can’t be helped sometimes, the premises are hardly meant to substitute for a home.”   
  
“That was my idea”, Mr. Castle said before the detective sitting next to him could answer. “Sir”, he quickly added when she turned to face him. She had to give him that. He was never a coward although he knew in how little regard she held him. He had always faced her directly, never cowering behind the detectives, when she had criticised him or his decisions. He always stood his ground, something she valued in a person.   
  
“Until we had figured out the last details, it was four in the morning. So I suggested taking a nap here would be more sensible than returning home and only get a sole hour of sleep. Here, we could at least get three”, he said with a quick glance at his watch.   
  
She shortly considered his answer then turned back to Detective Beckett. “I’ll tolerate it this once, Detective, but don’t make a habit of it.” And without another word she walked out of the room, finally towards her office. 

* * *

“Ouf”, Castle and Esposito made in unison as soon as Gates was out of ear-shot.    
  
“I always feel like a schoolboy caught at scribbling in his exercise book when she looks at me like that”, the author stated, shivering.   
  
“I feel ya”, Esposito agreed.   
  
“I don’t think she’s half bad”, Beckett said while she bent down to put on her shoes. “She’s fair and good at her job, we could do a lot worse.”   
  
“But she hates me!”, Castle protested.   
  
Beckett straightened up again and looked at him. “Sometimes I can’t blame her for it”, she said at which Esposito laughed.   
  
“Yeah, you go on, stab me in the back”, Castle said to the other man. “That’s what you get for saving someone’s best friend.” His tone wasn’t too serious so Esposito didn’t let himself be bothered.   
  
“We haven’t quite saved him yet”, Beckett reminded him and stood up. Castle and Esposito hurried to put on their shoes as well and followed her example.    
  
“I suggest we meet at my desk in five and go over the plan one more time before visiting the FBI. It’s too early to go there directly anyways.”   
  
Both men nodded and went after her as she left the room. Castle was just about to make coffee for the umpteenth time these past two days when Beckett held him back.    
  
“Let me do that”, she told him. “I think you should call Alexis.”   
  
“Yeah, right”, he smiled at her and nodded. In all honesty, he had completely forgotten about his daughter and his promise to explain it to her. So while Esposito went to his desk and Beckett walked over to the kitchen, Castle took out his mobile and dialled her number. He placed himself in front of the white board and looked at the pictures and the writing. Neither of them had bothered adding the newly discovered facts so it still looked the same as the afternoon before.   
  
“Dad!”, came the almost immediate answer. He hadn’t even had to let it ring twice.   
  
“Morning, Alexis”, he greeted her.   
  
“Where are you?”, she asked. “And why haven’t you come home last night?” There it was again, his daughter acted more like his parent than his child. Whenever he became aware of how reversed their roles were, Castle had to smile.   
  
“How do you know I wasn’t?”, he asked instead of answering.   
  
“Because I stayed here and waited”, she explained.   
  
He smiled even wider but took a pity on her. “I was at the precinct with Beckett and Esposito, working the case I mentioned.”   
  
“What about Ryan?” Typical Alexis, always the smart one. She had immediately picked up on him leaving out the third detective.   
  
“Well, you could say he _is_ the case.”   
  
“What?” Alexis sounded shocked and Castle realised too late how wrong that must have sounded considering he was working with the murder squad.   
  
“No, no, Alexis, don’t worry, not like that”, he hurried to explain. “Two days ago, he didn’t show for work and wouldn’t answer his phone. So we went to his flat and it was empty”, he summarized. “But there was a note he had written for Espo and long story short, we figured out he was put in witness protection. We spent the whole of last night finding a way to get him back safely and when we finished it was already around four so we just stayed here. Sorry if I worried you.”   
  
There was a short silence at the other end of the line. He could practically see Alexis considering what he had just told her.   
  
“But why? Why was he put in witness protection?”, she finally asked.   
  
“Turns out he was undercover with the Irish mob a few years back. Now someone recognized him and to keep him safe, the FBI intervened.”   
  
He heard a movement behind him and turned around. It was Beckett who had returned with the coffee and now placed it on the table. Esposito was already making his way over to them.   
  
“How do you want to get him back?”, Alexis asked.   
  
“We’ll make the mob believe their information about Ryan being a former undercover agent is wrong, it’s a bit complicated.” By now, Esposito had joined Beckett and sat in his chair from the day before. “Look, Alexis, I have to go. I’m sorry. I’ll fully explain when this is over, okay?”   
  
She hesitated but finally agreed.   
  
“Thanks. See you!”, he said and barely left her time to answer before he hung up and took his place at the desk. 

* * *

It was already past eight when they finished going over everything they had worked out last night again. Over the last hour, the precinct had filled with all the people usually working here and after the loneliness of the last night and this morning, it almost felt crowded to Castle.   
  
They had agreed no time was to be wasted in getting Ryan and Jenny back. And not just because they missed their friends but because with every passing day the risk of their efforts being in vain grew. It would take the mob a while to identify the officer that supposedly had spied on them by name and even a bit longer to find his address. But once they had the information they needed and went to the apartment, they would know two things. First, there was a mole amongst them and second, Ryan was indeed Fenton O’Connell. As soon as this point was reached, there would be no way of ever returning Ryan safely to his home again. At least not unless the mob was completely disintegrated, something neither of them dared to hope for. So they needed to get everything back to normal as soon as possible. This way, if the mob checked on their former suspect after learning of O’Connell’s supposed death, they would find that Detective Ryan of the NYPD was indeed a whole different person and leave him alone. Even the mob wouldn’t harm someone just for looking like a person they held a grudge against.   
  
“Should we call there first or visit directly?”, Esposito asked when Beckett had declared them ready.   
  
“Visit directly”, she answered decidedly. “They will try to send us away and over the phone it would be way harder to get them to listen.”   
  
Esposito nodded and he and Castle got up, donning their jackets while they followed Beckett out of the precinct. Captain Gates looked at them from behind her desk and made a gesture for them to simply continue their way out when Beckett moved in her direction to ask for permission.  

Traffic at this time of day was a nightmare with everyone going to work, so they decided to take the subway. It would be horribly crowded as well but at least they wouldn’t get stuck for an hour or more.   
  
After being packed like sardines in a can for almost fifteen minutes, Castle, Beckett and Esposito were now squeezing their way out of the station.    
  
“I wonder what it’s like to be claustrophobic when you live in New York”, Castle said as he watched the endless streams of people rushing in different directions.   
  
“Hell on earth”, Beckett answered.   
  
“Hm, didn’t know hell was so crowded”, he said to himself as he followed her onto the street, Esposito directly behind him.   
  
The walk from the station wasn’t long, it took them only five more minutes to reach the right building.   
  
When they entered, Castle couldn’t help but compare the FBI HQ to the 12th. He had to admit, this looked a bit more official. Almost intimidating.    
  
They found themselves in a huge entrance hall filled with quite a number of suit-wearing men and women. As always, Castle was surprised just how much of a cliché this really was.   
  
At the opposite side of the hall there was a long counter with several receptionists behind it, half of them talking over phones, the other half typing away on their computers.   
  
Without letting herself be disturbed by all the important looking people around her, Beckett headed straight for the desk. She picked the nearest woman, young, tall and brunette, and approached her. Castle and Esposito trailed behind.   
  
“Morning”, she greeted and the woman looked up. “I’m Detective Kate Beckett, these are Detective Javier Esposito and Richard Castle. We’re with the NYPD.”   
  
She got a curt nod in reply. “How can I help you?”   
  
“We need to talk to the agent responsible for the investigation against the Irish mob. Could you please point us to him and announce us if necessary?”   
  
“Does your request regard a current case?”   
  
“Yes”, Beckett answered unflinchingly.    
  
The woman started typing and looked at her screen again. Castle used the time to read her badge. Amanda Cole it said next to a photograph of her that didn’t look too much like her anymore. Apparently, she had done some drastic things to her hair in the past. He got pulled out of his observations when Ms. Cole started talking again.   
  
“That’d be Agent Martin Evans then. He should be free at the moment. His office is in the left wing, fourth floor, room 416.”   
  
“Thanks”, Beckett said before heading in the given direction without hesitation. Once again, the two men followed suit.   
  
They shared the elevator with a few others and exited it at the same time as two women talking to each other. The hallway they were now in was dull, grey carpet, white walls and identical looking doors leading away from it every few meters.    
  
“Well then, let’s see if we can get this Agent Evans to help us”, Beckett said when she reached room 416. She knocked politely and waited for the voice calling “Come in!” before she entered.   
  
There was nothing interesting about the office they now found themselves in. An average sized room with a plant being the only decoration. Shelves stacked with folders covered the walls and a desk stood in front of a window with standard blinds on it. Behind it sat who was apparently Martin Evans. The man was ordinary-looking by all means. Apparently neither big nor small, he had short, dark hair and an unremarkable face. At their entrance he looked up from his work.   
  
“Yes?”, he said, and although not unfriendly, his tone suggested he didn’t have time to waste.   
  
“Agent Evans?” He nodded at the question. “I’m Detective Kate Beckett, these are Detective Javier Esposito and Richard Castle, we’re with the 12th precinct”, Beckett practically repeated what she had told the receptionist.   
  
She got an affirmative noise in response. Taking that as an invitation, she stepped a little closer, Esposito standing slightly to the left and behind her while Castle curiously examined his surroundings.    
  
“A colleague of ours went missing two days ago,” Beckett started her explanation. “His name his Kevin Ryan.” Castle focused back on the agent. He noticed a small flicker of recognition in Evans’ eyes at the mentioning of the name. So they had been right. Triumphantly he looked at Espo who obviously had seen it, too, and tilted his head a little.    
  
“So?” Evans asked, apparently not ready to give away anything without being forced to.   
  
“Detective Ryan was undercover with the Irish mob a few years back and with the evidence we have gathered we have reason to believe he was now put in witness protection by your agency.” Castle smiled inwardly. He had always loved this direct manner of Beckett’s. She didn’t beat around the bush if she could help it.   
  
Evans leaned back in his chair, eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and caution. “And what evidence might that be?”   
  
“A short note Detective Ryan left his partner Detective Esposito here, for example. In it he told us we should check Simon Gallagher.” Again, recognition flashed in Agent Evans’ eyes but otherwise the man didn’t show any emotion.   
  
“So, we did. Turns out he’s a chemist providing the mafia with drugs. From there on the conclusion wasn’t too difficult to draw.”   
  
“And what have you come here for?” Evans asked. “Even in case you’re right, what do you want from me?”   
  
“We’d like to get our colleague back and for that we need help from you and your agency.”   
  
At that, Evans actually started laughing. “You do realize it’s called witness protection for a reason, don’t you? There’s no coming back, that’d defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?”   
  
“We’re not so sure about that”, Beckett replied, undisturbed by his patronizing demeanour and taking his reaction as a confirmation for their theory. “In fact, we think we found a way to bring Detective Ryan and his wife back home. In safety”, she added.    
  
“Do you really?”, he said, the curiosity in his expression now outweighing the caution. “And how exactly do you intend to do that?”   
  
It was like the talk with Gates all over again, only this time they didn’t just need their captain’s approval for their actions but had to persuade an FBI agent of quite a complex plan.   
  
Beckett did her best to convince the agent while Castle and Esposito both stayed silent for the most part as to not divert Evans’ attention or involuntarily anger him.    
  
In the end, the man was sitting with his elbows on the desk, leaning forward, and looked at Beckett thoughtfully. At some time during their talk he had pointed her to a seat in front of him that she had taken but since there were only two chairs, both Castle and Esposito had remained standing off to the side.   
  
The agent’s bearing had changed over the course of Beckett’s explanation from defensive over interested to almost intrigued. Since Castle had been silent, he had had enough time to study the varying expressions on the man’s features.   
  
“I see”, Evans finally said after he had thought about what he had just heard for a minute. “I have to admit, I’m impressed. An intricate piece of thinking and planning you did there. I can’t make the final decision but I will talk to my superiors about it. I guess they’ll like the ‘saving money’ part”, he said with a glance in Castle’s direction.    
  
“Thank you”, Beckett said. “We do appreciate it! And we don’t want to waste any more of your time.” She rose to her feet. “Could you keep us informed about the progress you’ve made?”    
  
“I will. But you have to guarantee me that you won’t do anything on your own, it could compromise the whole operation.”    
  
Beckett nodded. She took a business card out of her pocket and handed it to him. “My number”, she simply stated. He took it and placed it next to the phone on his desk, then stood as well. He offered her his hand and she shook it.    
  
“Good bye, Detective Beckett.” He looked at the two men waiting behind her and nodded towards them. “Detective Esposito, Mr. Castle.”    
  
They inclined their heads in response. “Agent Evans.”   
  
One after the other, they left the office and headed for the exit, their hopes at getting their friend back now a great deal higher than before. Even if Evans had to persuade his superiors first, they had done what they could for now and had succeeded in it.


	7. Chapter 7

“That didn’t go too badly, did it?” Esposito said when they excited the building and stepped onto the now emptier though still busy street.  
  
“Not as bad as I expected”, Beckett admitted. “He was surprisingly co-operative, I have to give him that. Although I don’t like we had to give up all responsibility.”  
  
“Why didn’t you try negotiate?”, Castle asked.  
  
“There would have been no use. It was either accepting his demands or defeat. And he had a point, it would’ve been dangerous if both parties had worked on the case. I’d just have liked to still have a say in the matter.”  
  
Esposito grunted in agreement.  
  
“Back to the precinct it is, then”, Beckett said but before she could move, Castle interrupted her.  
  
“Actually, I had hoped we could find us something to eat first”, he said. “I don’t know about you guys, but my dinner last night was cancelled by a sudden enlightenment.”  
  
“Good idea, bro.” Esposito looked at Beckett questioningly.  
  
“I’m in”, she stated and looked around. As everywhere in Manhattan, one didn’t need to look far in the search of food. There was a Starbucks on the opposite side of the street, a bakery next to them and a café at the nearest corner.  
  
“I vote for the bakery”, Esposito said. “Let’s get a coffee and something to eat, then we can be on our way again.”  
  
“Fine with me”, Beckett said and looked at Castle who nodded.  
  
They had barely reached the bakery’s entrance when Beckett’s cell phone started ringing. She took it out of her pocket and Castle glanced at the display.  
  
“Speaking of bad timing”, he muttered when she lifted it to her ear.  
  
“Beckett”, she said as a greeting then paused to listen. “Yes, sir. We’ll be right there.”  
  
Esposito and Castle groaned.    
  
“There’s been a homicide, guys”, Beckett told them what they already knew.  
  
“I won’t go there without having something to eat first”, Castle stated and the other man nodded in agreement.    
  
“Me neither”, he said.  
  
Beckett looked at them but didn’t protest. She, too, was already over the edge to being hypoglycaemic.    
  
Ten minutes later they sat in a cab, each a coffee and some pastry in hand, on their way to the crime scene.  

* * *

What followed was nothing special, just every day work and a welcome distraction from the waiting that was all they could do now for Ryan. A Columbia student doubling as a waitress had been found dead behind the café she was working at. Multiple stab wounds to her torso were the obvious cause of death, as Lanie, who had been on vacation for the past week, pointed out. Of course, the medical examiner instantly noticed there was one of them missing but with all the people crowding the space around the young woman’s body, Beckett deemed it best to delay the inevitable explanation until a quieter moment.  And while Lanie wasn’t too thrilled to be left hanging, she picked up on Beckett’s cautious behaviour and didn’t ask any further.  
  
Back at the precinct they began the usual investigation, starting with the horrible task of telling the parents of their daughter’s early and violent demise, then her brother and boyfriend. Neither knew a reason for why anyone would want to kill Anne Elmond. The only lead they had, a mysterious phone call only minutes prior to her death, was of no use because her cell was missing and the provider had some technical difficulties so there was no access to the call detail records.    
  
Having reached a dead end for now, Beckett decided to pay Lanie a visit. Both to see if she had found something useful during the autopsy and to tell her for what reason their team had so suddenly been reduced. Next to Castle she took Esposito with her. He had no partner at the moment and it would take a few days for another detective to get assigned to him, so he was to be with her for now. 

* * *

The door to the morgue swung open and three people entered. Lanie didn’t even need to look up, she already knew who it was. She had heard their steps on the tiled floor so often, she would recognize them even in her sleep. But she did anyways and saw Kate, Javie and Castle walking up to her. Still no Ryan. She hadn’t been completely sure if his absence this morning was just temporary or of a longer duration but she hadn’t dared ask directly. If Kate told her she would get to know later, there probably was a good reason for it. Maybe all the people that had been around. Well, now they were alone, apart from the dead body on the autopsy table, so no more excuses on that part.  
  
“Hey”, she greeted the incomers, abandoning the microscope she had just been working with and straightening up.    
  
“Hey, Lanie”, Kate responded while Castle just smiled and Javie grinned as usual. Although his demeanour seemed slightly subdued. Lanie knew him good enough to tell if there was something off. She eyed him curiously and a bit worried. Ryan missing and Javie not his cheery self. There was something important she was unaware of.  
  
“So, who gets his questions answered first?”, Lanie asked. “Will you tell me what the matter is before asking whether or not I’ve got something for you?”  
  
“Yes, yes of course.” Kate sounded apologetic. “Sorry, we didn’t tell you this morning, it’s just... Well, let’s say the less people know about it, the better.”  
  
If possible, Lanie’s curiosity spiked even higher. This almost sounded like some dark secret. But it was Ryan they were talking about. If she had ever known someone obvious and completely without mystery, it was Detective Kevin Ryan. The guy wore his heart on his sleeve and was nicer than any boy scout. She couldn’t imagine him being involved in some dubious affair or another. And neither his wife. Although she didn’t know Jenny as well as her husband, the woman clearly was very much like him.  
  
“Now you certainly got me at the edge of my seat”, she said. Pulling her gloves off, she walked over to where the others stood and looked at them inquiringly. “So?”  
  
“He’s in witness protection”, Javie answered her.  
  
Lanie stopped dead in her tracks and raised her eyebrows. “Witness protection? How on earth did he end up there?”  
  
“Turns out he was undercover with the Irish mob, back when he worked with Narcotics”, Javie explained. “Somehow must’ve forgotten to tell us about it.” The betrayal in his voice was obvious and Lanie threw him a pitying glance. She knew, the two men were like brothers and learning someone so close had just not mentioned something this important must hurt.  
  
“A few days ago, he was recognized by some thug and the FBI managed to get him to safety in time”, Castle continued. “They didn’t think it necessary to inform anyone, though”, he mused. “All we got was a letter of resignation and an empty apartment. If Ryan hadn’t managed to leave us a note with his neighbours, we would still wonder why he abandoned us so ignominiously.”  
  
Whatever Lanie had expected, it wasn’t this. She needed a second to get her thoughts in order before she was able to pose the next, quite important question. “And will he come back? I mean, if the mob’s after him, there’s not much to be done about it, is there?”  
  
To her surprise, all three of the people before her half-smiled.    
  
“Probably not”, Castle said. “But, if you possess outstanding ingenuity like we do, all it takes is a good night’s work and you can even outwit the mafia.” The smug look on his face was the same one he sported when he had just made a major breakthrough in a case, Lanie had seen it once or twice before. Apparently, he had had his share in developing a plan.    
  
When Kate had finished explaining what exactly they had found out and what was now to be done by the FBI, Lanie was positively overwhelmed. She knew why she preferred working with corpses and the facts they told to everyone who was able to listen to them. This theorizing, plotting and abstract thinking wasn’t her strong suit, never had been.    
  
“So all we can do now is wait and hope it works?”, she asked.  
  
“Unfortunately”, Kate admitted. “We don’t like it either, but there were only two options. Handing over full responsibility to the FBI or never seeing Ryan and Jenny again. With those options, the choice wasn’t a hard one hard to make.”  
  
Lanie nodded in understanding. “Alright then, shall I provide you with some distraction? I found an interesting thing or two when performing the autopsy on your victim.”

* * *

Half an hour later, Castle, Beckett and Esposito where back in the car, having learnt that Anne Elmond had indeed died from being stabbed. But of the numerous wounds in her torso and abdomen, the first one had been instantly fatal, so apparently the killer was either very, very lucky or he had known what he was doing and had only added the other wounds to cover up his tracks. Betting on the latter option, they were now searching for someone who either had medical knowledge or was trained in Martial Arts. What they were still missing though was a motive. There had to be a reason for why the young student, who had been killed.  
  
In order to find something, anything that could have given someone a reason to end Anne’s life, they were now on their way to the campus of Columbia University, hoping they could talk to some of her friends and fellow students.  
  
Right in the middle of traffic, Beckett’s phone rang. She shortly glanced at the display but the number was marked as ‘unknown’. She accepted the call while Castle and Esposito looked at her curiously.  
  
“Beckett”, she said. Over the noise from outside the car nothing from the other end of the line could be heard by either of the the two men.  
  
“Agent Evans”, Beckett exclaimed after a second. Another silence, considerably longer this time. “Yes, thank you for informing me.” With that, she put away her mobile again.  
  
“That was short”, Castle commented and Esposito asked “What did he say?”  
  
“That his superiors agreed to our plan. They will try to carry it out.”  
  
A wide grin spread over Castle’s face as well as Esposito’s. “Yes!”, the Latino exclaimed triumphantly. Beckett just smiled.

* * *

Everyone they talked to on campus seemed genuinely shocked by Anne’s death. Each of her friends and fellows confirmed what they had already heard from her brother and boyfriend. She had been popular, friendly and had never gotten herself into any trouble. But some of them recalled her being tense the day before. When asked why, they explained she had refused to talk about it.  
  
Still without a concrete lead, they decided to question the couple’s neighbours next. According to them, there had been quite a noisy argument the night before last, but since both Anne and her boyfriend Tom were generally peaceful, no one had intervened. And from Lanie they knew the victim’s only injuries were the stab wounds so the fight between her and her boyfriend hadn’t been violent.     
  
Confronted by this new information, Tom instantly admitted to have had a disagreement with her. Asked why he hadn’t mentioned it, he said he hadn’t thought it important. Apparently, while Anne had been working as a waitress to pay her fees, her brother Len was trying for a scholarship. According to Tom, Anne and he had learned that Len had cheated to increase his chances. And while Tom had been adamant that Len should be turned in for it, Anne had been reluctant to take action against her own brother. In the end, she apparently had given in, agreeing on talking to his dean in the foreseeable future, but not without talking to Len first.  
  
Realizing this seemed like a possible motive, Tom rushed to reassure Castle and Beckett that he didn’t think Len would ever be able to do his sister any harm, no matter the circumstances, which was why he hadn’t told them before.  
  
Neither of the two detectives nor Castle were too sure about that, though. Until now, they had been lacking a motive for the murder but here it was, plain and simple. Academic success meant everything to some people and however shocked Len Elmond had seemed when they had first questioned him, most killers proved to be excellent actors.  
  
They agreed on talking to the professor responsible for the scholarship next, but as it was getting late, they decided to pay that visit the next day. Neither of them had gotten too much sleep last night and their concentration was fading. Not even an especially black coffee had done much good anymore.

* * *

“Finally at home”, Castle stated when he opened the door for Beckett and him.  
  
“Seems to have been ages since we were last here, doesn’t it?”, she asked.  
  
“Yeah, it does! Although it’s been only”, he paused in shedding his jacket and counted in his head, “twenty-three hours. For me, at least.” He looked at her. “Only twenty-three!”  
  
“Well”, she said and hung her own clothing on the coat rack next to the door, “that’s what you get when you try to save your friends from exile.” She moved closer to him and stretched to kiss him. “I’m glad we did, though.” She smiled at his typical boyish joy whenever she came near him.  
  
“Dad! Kate!”, a sudden voice came from above their heads. Both Castle and Beckett intuitively took a step away from each other.  
  
“I’m old enough not to be hysteric about my father kissing someone”, Alexis stated dryly and with a wide grin when she descended the stairs.  
  
“Sorry, it’s a habit”, Castle said and embraced her, his jacket still hanging over one of his arms.  
  
“I do believe that. How long do you think you’ll manage to keep it a secret from Captain Gates?”  
  
“As long as at all possible”, Beckett answered. “Because as soon as she finds out, she’ll probably kick your father out of the precinct herself.”  
  
Alexis chuckled and Castle attempted to look terrified at the prospect but didn’t quite manage because a yawn took hold of his facial muscles.  
  
“Haven’t you gotten any sleep last night?”, Alexis asked.  
  
“Not as much as we would have liked”, Castle answered and finally got rid of his jacket. He followed Beckett to the kitchen area, Alexis next to him.  
  
“So, will you tell me about what’s up with Ryan now? In a little more detail than this morning, if you please?”  
  
“Only, if you haven’t eaten all the casserole I prepared yesterday.”  
  
“She hasn’t”, Beckett, who had just opened the fridge, reassured him.  
  
“Lucky for you”, Castle told his daughter. “Where is your grandmother?”  
  
“On the way home from her studio, I think. Maybe you should wait with your explanation until she arrives”, Alexis mused. “Otherwise you’ll have to tell twice.”  
  
“You told her?”, Castle asked, though not angry.  
  
“What choice did I have? I had to tell her why I was sitting here all alone last night, didn’t I?”  
  
“Good point”, he admitted. “Speaking of, why are you here now? Have you decided your father’s company is to be preferred over campus life?”  
  
She smiled at the mock hopefulness in his voice. “No, not quite yet. I just thought you owed me a dinner after you stood me up last night.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at him accusingly, although it was obvious, she wasn’t really mad.  
  
“Deal, we get that casserole heated up, wait for your grandmother and we’ll tell you two all about it over dinner. That alright?”  
  
“Hmm”, Alexis pretended having to think about it. “Okay.”  
  
The door opened just when Beckett placed the last plate on the table. Martha Rodgers entered the apartment in her usual self-confident and omnipresent way.  
  
“ _Who’s riding so late where wind blows wild/it is the father without his child_ ”, she exclaimed dramatically when she caught sight of Castle next to the kitchen counter. “Richard, where did you run off to last night? There I was, coming home expecting to spend the evening with my wayward son and his charming daughter, but the only person I find is dear Alexis here.” She hugged the young woman before walking up to Castle, a scolding expression on her face.  
  
“Goethe? Really, mother?”, he looked down at her, smiling. “I know of your love for the overly dramatic but don’t you think that’s a bit much?”  
  
“Oh, no, no”, she waved her hand dismissively and turned to face Beckett. “There’s no such thing as too much drama. Good evening, Kate, nice to see you.”  
  
“Nice to see you, too, Martha.” Beckett couldn’t help but grin a little at the familial scene before her. The Castles really were some special people.  
  
“So, do we get a sensible explanation now?” Martha asked.  
  
Castle sighed demonstratively. “Your wish is my command. But only”, he turned towards the oven, “when I get something to eat first.” He took the casserole out and placed it in the middle of the table.  
  
“Oh well”, Martha answered and swirled back to the door to shed her bright red coat. Underneath it she wore a breath-taking combination of blue and silver. It wasn’t the first time Beckett wondered where the women in Castle’s family got the bravery for their bold choices in colour from.  
  
“Dinner is served”, Alexis announced and filled the last of the glasses with wine. They sat down and Castle began explaining.  
  
When he reached the end of the story, they had almost finished eating.    
  
“Okay, I’ll accept that as an apology”, Alexis said. “This is a good enough reason to abandon your only daughter.”  
  
“But only barely”, Martha added teasingly. “I have to say, I’m quite impressed.”  
  
“By what?”, Castle asked. “Ryan’s past or our work to make up for it?”  
  
“Both, I assume. He always seemed so calm, almost boring”, she said, always her brutally honest self.  
  
“Grandma!”, Alexis exclaimed while Beckett smiled. After all, this was what they had all been thinking, more or less, at some point during the whole affair.  
  
“There’s no denying it”, Martha defended herself. “But anyways, I guess I was wrong about him, then. My eye for people seems to loosen some of its sharpness.”  
  
“Don’t worry, mother, we all made that mistake.”  
  
“I, for one, don’t care too much about it as long as we’ll get him back soon”, Beckett said and earned nods from the other three.  
  
“And you will”, Martha said confidently. “So, is there anything in that fridge we could have for dessert?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you didn't find the way I displayed the case too weird. It is just a means to pass the time for our characters... When I first wrote this story, I was halfway through completely writing it all out when my beta told me it was unproportional and that I should just write a general outline. So here we are...
> 
> Oh, and I just had to put that "Erl-King" quote in there. I'm German after all and although I never liked that particular poet's work, I had to pay some credit to my natonal heritage ;-) And it seemed fitting for Martha...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, here we go. Hope you'll like it!

The next morning had Castle and Beckett in a car on the way to the precinct to pick Esposito up and then head directly for Columbia University and the school Len belonged to. Their talk with the professor responsible for the scholarship revealed that indeed something had seemed off about the application in question, and so Len Elmond was once again invited for questioning, this time under the assumption of him being the killer.  

Though while he instantly admitted on cheating when faced with the charge, he denied being involved in his sister’s death and even gave an alibi that checked out when tested. Born from a sudden epiphany Beckett asked him who had helped him cheat and surprised Len gave them the name of a fellow student of his. 

Two hours later, Daniel Prince was sitting in front of Castle and Beckett while Esposito got called off to his phone. They were already questioning the ambitious young man when a sudden knock on the door interrupted them. It was Esposito waving a sheet of paper. The provider had finally gotten around to solving their problem with the servers and had now access to the needed data. The call records showed the number which had contacted Anne only minutes before she had died in. It was Daniel Prince’s. 

From there on, it was easy. He confessed that he had learned about her wanting to tell the dean about Len cheating and that he had intended to talk her out of it. They had met in the backyard of the café she had been working at, but when she had refused to forget about the subject, something in him had snapped and he had killed her with the switch blade he always carried. After writing his statement down and have him sign it, the young man was escorted to the cell that would hold him until trial started.  

Once again robbed of their distraction from waiting to hear from the FBI, Beckett and Esposito had spent the rest of the day getting rid of paperwork while Castle left for his apartment. He didn’t fool himself, he wasn’t going to write anything good at the moment, but pretending that he at least tried seemed better than not doing anything at all. Or so he thought. In the end, he went to bed early just to be able to stop thinking. 

* * *

It was barely eight o’clock the next day when Castle excited the elevator, three freshly bought cups of coffee in hand. On his way to Beckett’s desk he handed one to Esposito, who looked at him surprised and returned his “Morning!” before going back to work. 

“Castle, what are you doing here so early?”, Beckett asked instead of a greeting when he placed the cup in front of her. “There isn’t even a case we’re working at the moment.” 

“Ugh”, he said while sitting down, “do you know what horror it is to sit at home and wait? Far worse than sitting here, I can tell you! Like this, I can at least pretend I know what’s going on. And my laptop doesn’t look at me accusingly”, he finished in a low voice. 

“Writing didn’t work?”, Beckett asked compassionately. 

“No. I didn’t manage a single sensible word. How am I supposed to be creative when Ryan decides to put himself in the mafia’s line of fire and doesn’t leave one another choice but to constantly worry about him?” Now he sounded slightly reproachful and Beckett smiled. 

“I don’t think it was his intention to annoy you. And he didn’t exactly decide to do so either.” 

“Hm, anyways”, Castle said gruffly but it was clear he wasn’t really mad at their absent friend. 

Beckett smiled again before refocusing on her screen. He settled in his chair and prepared for a long day of waiting. 

Hours went by and the clock neared twelve a.m. when Castle, Beckett and Esposito found themselves in the kitchen-like room. The two detectives had both decided they needed a break and Castle was tired of staring off into nothingness. It was one of those times he cursed his over-active imagination. In the beginning he had been trying to at least think about the plot of his latest book if he couldn’t write. But with every passing minute it had become harder to stay focused, until he had finally succumbed and let his mind drift away. In the end he had come up with what felt like every possible way in which the whole operation could have gone wrong. Or still could, for that matter.

Now the three of them were sitting around the table, Beckett and Esposito talking about something work-related while Castle couldn’t bring himself to participate. His mind was still occupied with less pleasant things. He couldn’t shake the thoughts haunting him.  

“What is it, Castle?”, Beckett suddenly asked and by that brutally pulled him out of his reverie. 

“Hm? What?” He looked at her, slightly confused. 

“You’ve been staring at that point on the wall for a solid five minutes now, man”, Esposito answered in her place. “What’s up?” 

“Ugh, nothing”, he deflected. 

Beckett furrowed her brows, not letting him off the hook that easily. 

“What if it didn’t work?”, Castle suddenly burst out. “What if the FBI was too late and the mob already found out they were after the right man? What if the FBI had a mole who sold Ryan out? What if ...” 

At that point, Beckett cut him off. “Castle, stop.”  

He looked at her, mouth still open. “But ...” 

“No, no buts”, she interrupted again. “I won’t allow it. We won’t”, she added with a glance towards Esposito who nodded confirmatory. Castle shut his mouth. 

“We’re just as worried as you are, man”, the Latino said. “But thinking it over and over again won’t do any good. Neither him nor us. Just try to focus on something else.” 

“It will be alright, okay?” Beckett joined in. “It was a good plan, probably the only one that ever had a chance of working and that it will do. We just have to be patient.” 

“I’m not patient”, Castle said, sounding almost like a petulant child. 

“No, I know”, she smiled. “But this time, you don’t have a choice I’m afraid.” 

“No choice in what?” 

The curious voice from the door behind them had Castle, Beckett and Esposito spin around in their seats simultaneously. The man was standing in the doorframe leading to the main room, hands in his pockets and grinning. 

“Ryan!”, Beckett exclaimed, completely surprised while Esposito jumped to his feet.  

“Kevin!”, he said and strode over to his friend, enclosing him in a short but heart-felt hug and slapping him on the back. “Good to have you back, man!” 

Ryan grinned from ear to ear. “Good to be back!” 

Beckett got up as well and hugged Ryan, too. “We missed you”, she told him, “wasn’t quite the same without you here.” 

“Glad to hear it”, he answered in a teasing tone, “I’d hate to be expendable.” 

“If only you would be, I could have gotten some work done these past few days”, Castle, who was still sitting at the table, said, pretending to be upset with the younger man. He then got up as well, a wide grin spreading across his face, and joined the three next to the door. He hugged Ryan just as Beckett and Esposito had, being even more relieved to have his friend back than he would let on. “Nice of you to join us once again”, he said a little ironically. 

“Yeah, well, wasn’t really my choice to be gone in the first place, was it”, Ryan answered, laughing. 

“No, probably not”, Castle agreed. 

Suddenly, Beckett looked through the window between the kitchen and the main room. “Did you report back to Gates already?”, she asked. 

“No, I haven’t. Guess I better should and soon.” Ryan looked positively alarmed. 

“Wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her first hour back on duty, would you?”, Esposito joked to which his partner nodded. 

“Let’s meet at my desk afterwards”, Beckett proposed. “No one will listen to us there. This room here is way too highly frequented and at my desk it will at least look like we’re working.” 

The others agreed and moved towards their respective destinations. At the last second, Esposito turned towards Castle. “Don’t forget the coffee”, he said with a grin. 

The older man made a face at him but moved back to prepare the beverages. He really did congratulate himself on having found that tray! With Ryan back, he wouldn’t have had a choice but walk twice to bring them over. 

When he tried placing the mugs on it though, the small wooden plate proved to be too small. Determined not to let himself be put off, Castle did his best to make it fit anyways. After one and a half minutes and a few burned fingertips, he decided for the construct in front of him to be stable enough for transport. Slowly, he lifted the tray, on top of which stood three mugs in a triangle once again topped by the fourth one.  

Castle had almost reached Beckett’s desk at which the three detectives were already seated and waiting for him. Ryan was smiling, Beckett looked content and Esposito was flat out grinning though he obviously tried to hide it. Castle himself had a hard time not to look too relieved or delighted. Both expressions fought for dominance on his face. It seemed ridiculous that Ryan had only been gone for three days, it felt like half a lifetime. 

When he passed the last desk before Beckett’s, Castle miscalculated the space available and slightly bumped its corner. More out of surprise than pain he jumped a little, jolting the tray in his hand. What probably would have caused only a few drops of coffee splashing out of the mugs had he only been carrying two or three of them now set off quite a spectacular chain reaction. The mug on top slowly started to lose its balance and finally slid off the others. Castle watched the whole process with a strange fascination, unable to move and try to stop it. The ceramic fell, spilling its contents and hit the edge of the tray. The impact caught Castle by surprise so he couldn’t grip the wooden plate tight enough. In the end, all four mugs and the tray crashed down, making both a lot of noise and a big mess. 

Castle was still staring down at his now coffee-soaked shoes when he registered the laughing. Not one of the three detectives showed even the tiniest bit of compassion. 

“Maybe you should practice a bit more before joining the circus,” Esposito said, grinning even more than before. 

“Oh, shut up”, Castle replied. By some miracle the mugs had all remained intact, only one had a small piece missing on its edge but was still usable. He sighed. “Could have worked”, he said a bit disappointed. “Would have, in fact, if not for this stupid piece of wood.” He lightly kicked the momentarily uninhabited desk. 

“Don’t get too worked up about it”, Ryan said, “at least we had some fun watching it. And it’s not as if coffee is a limited resource around here, is it?!” With that he stood, picked up the tray and the mugs and left for the kitchen to get a refill. Esposito followed him, not without grinning at Castle again, and Beckett moved to help get rid of the mess on the floor.

When they finally sat around the desk again, the same mugs with new coffee in front of them, Beckett looked at the three men contently. Even if it had only been a few days, it felt like far too long since she had seen them all in one place. 

“So, Ryan, you want to share your adventure with us?”, Castle asked, always eager to hear a good story. Both Beckett and Esposito straightened up a bit and leaned in a few millimetres when Ryan started to talk. 

He told them how late in the evening someone had kept ringing the doorbell and when they had opened an Agent Collins had walked in, waving an FBI-badge around. The man had explained how indeed the FBI had an inside man in the Irish mob who had overheard another member talking to the leader about how he saw Ryan working with the police. Jenny had been totally confused. Just like his colleagues Ryan had never told her about his time undercover. At that point, Esposito interrupted him and asked why he had failed to mention it to either of them. Ryan just shrugged in response and got on with his story.  

It had pretty fast become obvious that there wasn’t much of a choice about whether or not to join the witness protection program the FBI offered them. Of course, neither of them was thrilled at the prospect but if it was either starting a new life or potentially not even have one anymore, the call wasn’t a hard one to make.

Guessing the FBI would fail to inform anyone about what had happened to them, Ryan had decided to leave his friends a note, correctly assuming that sooner rather than later they would come looking for him. To be on the safe side, he had slipped the piece of paper under his neighbours’ door, hoping it would eventually come to the right hands. He explained how he hadn’t wanted to write plainly what had happened in case the Andersons read it and in an attempt to be helpful tried to find this “Javie” and thereby accidentally informing someone about the whole affair who might not stand on the right side of the law, badge or no badge. He didn’t quite manage to hide how proud he was of himself for finding the perfect solution – setting them onto Simon Gallagher, who they had a chance to find out worked for the mafia but who didn’t know Ryan himself, neither from name nor from picture. He laughed when Esposito exasperatedly told him how hard figuring it out had been and slapped Castle approvingly on the back for being the one who put the pieces together.  

From there on, Ryan and Jenny had been in a flurry of events, first being transported to a safe house a few cities over and the next day to a small apartment in Indianapolis, where they were supposed to start their new life. Still rattled by what had happened, neither of them had done much those first few hours and before they had had the chance to fully let sink in what all this meant, another FBI agent had come, telling them they could return to New York. At the question how that was possible, he had said a solution for the threat poised over them had come up, but nothing more. Castle scoffed at the implication that indeed the FBI had been the ones to come up with the plan. When they told Ryan what had really happened, he grinned.  

“Could have guessed the only ones crazy enough to think of something like this would be you”, he said. “Thanks, by the way. I’m sure Indianapolis is a beautiful city, but nothing compares to New York, does it?”  

“The city is your only concern? Honestly? What about us, your gorgeous friends?”, Esposito asked in mock insult. 

“Secondary”, Ryan teased. 

Esposito pretended to be badly hurt by the comment and turned away from his partner to look across the room. Castle and Beckett grinned at their bantering. 

“So, within an hour we were in the car back here and last night we arrived at our old apartment. I barely recognized it, all empty”, Ran continued his story. 

“Believe me, we were just as confused when we first found it like that”, Beckett said. “Did the FBI tell you if you will get your stuff back? 

“Yeah, fortunately! Apparently, it’s stored away in a warehouse at the moment, waiting to get sold to the highest bidder. But since we came back so soon, the auction isn’t yet planned so everything can go back to normal.” Ryan stopped for a second. “I hope they’ll pay for a company to transport it all back to where it belongs”, he mused. 

“If not, we’ll gladly help you carry it back”, Beckett reassured him with a smile and Castle nodded. “Won’t we, Espo?”, she poked at the still sulking detective. 

“I guess”, he said, still pretending to be insulted but turning back to the others nonetheless. “But I hope this teaches you a lesson, Kevin”, he added towards his best friend. 

“Which one?”, Ryan asked. 

“Not to keep important stuff like having been undercover with the Irish mob from us, for example.” 

“Yeah”, Castle joined in, “because you could have saved us quite bit of worry and yourself some time in the lovely city of Indianapolis, if we had just known what had happened.” 

Ryan just grinned. “So you did worry about me, nice to know”, he teased. 

“Not anymore if you pull off something like this again”, Esposito threatened and for one last time, the agitated man from three days ago was clearly visible through the detective’s calm facade. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you made it through, thanks for sticking with this story! Longest piece I ever wrote. I'm not content with every detail, especially the ending seems a bit anticlimactic to me, but as I'm not as good a writer as I'd like to be and therefor couldn't manage anything better, it'll has to do.  
> I'd love to hear your opinion on the matter :-)


End file.
